Winds of Change Book II Distant Thunder
by RGZ Archer
Summary: Kai has assembled his team, and the group of seven must now race against both Cyclonia and time itself to prevent a weapon of unimaginable power from falling into the wrong hands. But just whose hands are the wrong hands? Who is their true enemy?
1. Finding Your Wings Once More

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 1: Finding Your Wings Once More.

AN: Welcome to the first chapter of the second volume in the Winds of Change saga. I have decided to break the story up into 3 books total to prevent it from getting a monster sized scroll bar in the chapter select box. Now, this book will pick up right where the last one left off and will cover a span of approximately five weeks, so it will be a bit larger than the previous one. Now, if you haven't read book I, this story will make no sense to you at all, so go back and read it first. With that out of the way, sit back, relax, and get ready to enjoy what I hope will be a good story. Oh and if anyone's interested, my current avatar is the model I used for the teams freighter. It shows the hidden weapons active.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, and this story.

Shadow and Griffy are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Narrator01

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made by and owned by MissDedodakes

The ship barreled down the hanger and shot out like a bullet. As soon as it cleared the hanger, the ships lights cut off and the cockpit was illuminated only by the instruments red glow.

"Don't worry, that's normal." Kai reassured the passengers as he steered around the massive column's of crystal that rose from the depths of terra Deep.

"Piper? Where to?" Kai asked the bluenette that currently looked like she was having a sugar rush.

The younger teen turned to look at him, and it took a moment for her to figure out what he meant. _"That's right, I'm the navigator, douy!"_ Taking a second to calm down her breathing, she pulled out her notebook.

"The first port that the ship recorded reaching was located in what they called The Phoenix Den. Its coordinates are pretty close to terra Amazonia, but I think it's in the wastelands." She said looking up from her notes.

Marina's breath hitched. _"The dream….was it a vision of what's going to happen? If it is, then why was I alone? Where were the others?"_ She thought with a slight shiver.

She was still trying to get rid of the lingering feel of cold metal around her throat. Whoever it was that she saw in her dream, they were wearing some kind of armor under their robe, and they didn't seem bothered by the heat at all.

"Are…is there any chance of us coming across some..thing down there." Marina asked. She had almost slipped and said some-one, but caught herself just in time.

Kai was silent for a moment before answering. "Normally, no. Very few creatures can survive in the wastelands, and those that can usually prefer to stay away from terras. But since this is a possible city, fortress, or at the very least, port of the Ancients, I would say yes." Kai replied focusing on piloting the ship out of terra Deep.

Marina gulped and tried to focus on other things to keep calm. Part of her wanted to tell the others about her dreams, but she just couldn't. Something was holding her back.

"_What if by my telling them…I make those events occur?"_

This was her current dilemma. On the one hand, she could prevent something from happening by warning the others. On the other hand, she might _cause_ those events by changing what would have happened in the first place.

Several hours past, and the initial excitement of the flight faded away. Shadow and Tigger had decided to go back to the cabin area to chat and Rondana, having nothing better to do followed, leaving the others to their selves.

Marina was still a bit tired due to her dream, so she quickly drifted off in her seat, which, just as Kai had said earlier, was rather comfortable.

Piper, since she was the navigator for the mission had no choice but to remain alert and at attention. They had no idea where it was they were actually going, they only knew the general area, so her attention was being divided between the viewports and her translated book.

Kai of course was focused on flying. They had long since left terra Deep, but that didn't make things any safer. In fact, it actually made things harder. In terra Deep there were plenty of places to hid or ambush someone if you knew the area, but in the open sky's there was no place to really hid except in the clouds. This of course was the first thing taught in every flight school on Atmos, never, for any reason fly into a cloud.

Ever.

Because of this, Kai had to not only keep the ship in the air, but had to keep a lookout for any other vessels. He was after all flying an unregistered freighter, an enemy of Cyclonia, and, as far as the Sky Council was concerned, a wanted fugitive.

This left Starling alone with her thoughts, a situation that she was finding to be very common as of late.

"_Why is it that every time I'm in a group I'm still by myself?"_ She thought half amused, half sourly. _"I feel like a third wheel on this mission. I can't speak or read ancient like Piper. I'm not as strong as Marina, or anywhere close to being as good as Tigger or Rondana in their fields. Even Shadow can at least keep things from getting to serious and gloomy."_

This was a first for Starling. For the first time she felt completely and utterly useless. She knew that wasn't true, but with the way things were going lately; she was having a hard time seeing anything positive.

"_First I get back from a mission and find that my base has been invaded. Then I get attacked by Arygyn and chase him for three days across half of Atmos, then end up on a mission with Kai for the first time in over a year, only to find out he's been doing my missions behind my back all the while running from the Sky Council and playing treasure hunter for Arygyn."_ This of course led to a second train of thought, one that was more than just a little confusing.

"_I still don't understand why Kai kept this all to himself. I can understand why he wouldn't make this public, but I can't believe that he wouldn't at least tell me. We've known each other for almost fourteen years! He must have told someone other than the Rock Hearts."_ Starling narrowed her eyes in concentration. _"Think Starling, think. Kai would never let any harm come to his friends if he could do anything about it, and I taught him to always have a plan B. He must have had some form of backup for if he ever failed, or if something happened to him."_

Then it clicked.

In the past year, she had received several, offers.

Offers that she hadn't thought much of at the time since she had become accustomed to them, but when combined with what she now knew, were seen in a different light.

"_After Kai visited the Condor, Aerrow started asking me to join the Storm Hawks again, more than he ever did before, and Suzi, she's offered me the position of Beta twice in the last few months. Even Tigger stopped attacking Aladd when he tried to convince me to join the Rock Hearts."_ If she hadn't been sitting at the moment, she was sure that she would have fallen flat on her rear at this revelation.

"_Did Kai tell them what was happening? No…no I don't think he told anyone, he made that clear as day. He must have just asked them if they would mind asking me every now and then if I wanted to join them."_ This made her feel a bit better, but now she was left wondering at just how many little things Kai had done over the last year to try and help her, and what had simply been random chance.

Shaking her head, Starling slowly rose from her seat and went to the cabin area to rest her eyes.

"I still don't get why he needed us. He seems to have everything under control already, and he told us that he's been doing this for a while. Why would he suddenly want a team to help him when he's been fine so far going solo?" Shadow asked the rooms other two occupants.

"Why are you asking me? I'm a doctor, not a psychic." Rondana replied looking up from a book she had been _trying_ to read.

Key word. Trying.

"Maybe something's different this time?" Tigger said tapping her chin.

Shadow, who was sitting on the bunk above her, dipped her top half over the side so that she was now hanging upside down like a bat.

"What would make this one different from the others? It's just some old ship." She said, unaware that she was slowly sliding forward.

"Maybe that's what it is. It would be hard to get a ship up and running by himself. I mean, yeah we got this thing up and running in one day, but it took all seven of us to do it." Tigger guessed.

"Ok, but if that's the case, why are we going to this, Phoenix Den, and not straight to where the ship is? If we're using its log book, couldn't we just go the where the last entry is, find the ship and be done with this whole mess?" Rondana asked.

Shadow laughed, but at the same time finally slid too far over the bed and fell off the side onto the ground.

"Owie!" Shadow shouted rubbing her head.

"What was so funny that it made you fall off the bunk?" Tigger asked, slightly confused.

It took Shadow a minute to stop rubbing the goose egg forming on her head, but when she did she gave a beaming smile. "I know why we're taking the long way." She replied confidently.

"Oh? And just what might that be?" Rondana asked turning a page.

Shadow smiled. "Because we'll get stronger, and we might even meet some people that will help us on our way!" She replied cheerfully.

Rondana and Tigger face planted.

"Shadow, this is real life, not some RPG game or novel." Tigger said as she picked herself up off the floor.

"Oh come on! It's not that bad of an idea!" Shadow exclaimed.

Tigger raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, a game where some group of random people flies around the world searching through ancient ruins would be a greatest hit." She said sarcastically.

"Yeah! It would be! There would be the cool thief from a village of thieves, who turns out to be royalty, and an ultra tuff girl that would be like, a champion fighter!" Shadow said doing her impression of a boxer throwing a few punches into the air.

Rondana, bored, decided to humor the girl. "Yeah, then throw in some guy that's all gloomy and emo that can transform into creatures, and a blond mechanic that never fights, just constantly complains about things."

Tigger narrowed her eyes and fired back. "Oh, and you cant forget about the medic that always wears long dresses into combat no matter where they are who goes on and on about trying to make things better in the world."

Shadow then jumped in. "And don't forget the animals! They would have two; both could talk and would always be the comic relief! OH! And one could like, ride on the others back like a horse!"

Tigger and Rondana traded disbelieving looks and were about to reply when the doors opened to reveal Starling, who walked right by them and went to one of the bunks to lie down.

Wanting to put an end to the silence, Rondana spoke up.

"So, eh…Starling. Do you know why Kai's taking us all over Atmos instead of straight to where the ship is by any chance?"

Starling blinked before turning her attention to the others.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say something?" She asked.

"Yeah, she asked if you knew why we weren't just going to the ship. What's with the detours?" Shadow asked dusting herself off.

Starling was quiet for a moment before answering.

"Honestly, I don't know. I haven't really given it much thought." She said now sitting up.

"Welllll, it's not like you haven't had a lot on your mind." Tigger said pushing her glasses up.

Seeing Starlings face fall slightly she decided to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"I mean, when's the last time you and Kai have been around each other this much?" She asked.

The rooms three other occupants shot her strange looks, meaning they were confused.

"_Smooth save Tigger. Now you just have to come up with a reason."_ It only took the girl a few seconds, but she did just that.

"He said that you grew up together, and were best friends. Then you go your separate ways and hardly see each other for over a year, then suddenly your roommates again. It's bound to mess with your head." She said, hoping the others would buy her bluff.

Shadow looked confused, and Starling seemed to be unsure, Rondana however, actually backed her up.

"She's right actually."

Everyone turned to stare at the young doctor.

"Well, when two people spend a lot of time around each other, their biological clocks synchronize, and the two's body's become used to the others presence. If the two then go for a prolonged period of time without being near the other, their clocks reset. When the two meet up again, their mind says 'recognized' but their bodies don't. It becomes mind verses body and makes both people feel uncomfortable with the others presence until they resynchronize." Rondana explained.

Tigger and Shadow starred in confusion while Starling ran the information over a few times.

"I guess that makes sense. It could be why I always feel ok around the Storm Hawks, since I stay with them every month or so." Starling said looking mildly more comfortable.

Tigger mentally breathed a sigh of relief at the save, but quickly noticed the look on Rondana's face. _"What is that? It's like she's expecting something to happen…or…"_

Before she could finish the thought, Starling spoke. "Is there any way to speed up the resynchronization? So it doesn't interfere with the mission?" She asked.

Tigger would later swear that for a brief second, Rondana had been replaced by Ashelle.

Rondana looked up at the ships ceiling for a moment before speaking. "Weeelllll, spending more time with the person would speed it up. So would thinking about previous interactions with said person, so long as they are good memories, would also help."

Starling seemed to be giving the matter serious thought, but was brought to a dead stop by a single unexpected question.

"I don't mean to change the subject, but do you have any idea why Kai had a bunch of pictures of Harrier in his weapons training room?" Shadow asked sitting down on a trunk across from the older woman.

Tigger caught the scathing look that Rondana sent Shadow's way. It only lasted for a brief second, but she saw it plain as day. _"That's the same look Sara gives me when I drag Aladd away from her. What's Rondana up to?"_ She thought.

Starling seemed a bit stunned for a second, but that was quickly replaced by a small chuckle. A small chuckle that grew in power until the woman covered her mouth with one hand.

"What's so funny?" Shadow asked.

Starling gave in and started into full blown laughter, to the point of pain and was clutching her sides.

"Um Rondana, did I break her?" Shadow asked fearfully peaking from her spot behind Tigger.

Starling managed to regain her self control a bit and held out one hand. "No, no, it's just that." Not able to get any more out, she started laughing again for a few seconds before completely gaining control.

"Thank you Shadow, I needed that." Starling said with a sincere smile.

"You still didn't answer the question." Rondana said pointedly.

"_Shadow, you might have just given me the foothold I needed."_ She thought with a grin.

Starling looked at the other three, and it took a second, but she realized that they wanted her to explain what was so funny.

"Well, errrr Kai and Harrier….have never been able to….see eye to eye." She quickly explained.

"Ptttpth. Harrier couldn't see eye to eye with a cactus." Shadow said crossing her arms.

Even though they didn't say it, the other three mentally agreed.

"Why don't they get along? I mean, Kai did a good job hiding his…errr…current status, so its not like Harrier could know how many rules he's broken." Rondana said setting up to face the Sky Knight.

Starling became slightly flustered, but managed to push it down to respond.

"They just got off to a…bad start, that's all."

" _Bingo! Just what I needed. Now I just need to figure out how to use this without incurring the wrath of emo-Kai."_ Rondana thought with a shudder.

Several months back, she attempted to use guilt in trying to find out what Kai was doing to get so messed up. The result was him slipping into a mild depression and becoming a moody, sour, and most disappointingly, silent mass of blaa. She could have sworn that there was actually a little rain cloud over his head for that entire week. Needless to say, she never tried her hand at the guilt card again.

"Come on Star! Tell us a story!" Shadow said dropping down on her stomach holding her head up with both arms. Looking every bit the part of a five year old watching Saturday morning cartoons.

"Err emm, maybe another time." Starling said hopping up and quickly exiting the room.

Rondana balled her hand into a fist and narrowed her eyes. _"Fiddlesticks! I was soo close!"_ She thought.

"Uh Rondana, you ok?" Shadow asked poking her arm.

Rondana's disposition quickly changed to one of peace and tranquility, and with a serene smile, she answered. "Oh yes, everything is just fine."

Starling entered the cockpit and was not too surprised to see that things were no different than they had been a few minutes ago. Kai was still focused on flying, Piper was focused on her notes, and Marina…

Marina was focused on the inside of her eyelids.

Taking one of the open seats, Starling bit her lip for a moment, trying to figure out what to say to her one time ward.

"Kai, I was wondering…" She started.

"Hm?"

Since he was 'busy' at the moment with flying the ship, he couldn't turn around, but he did acknowledge her.

"I was just trying to figure out why you decided to bring a team with you on this mission. Since you have apparently been doing this sort of thing by yourself for a while now?" She asked.

Kai stiffened before answering.

"If it were up to me, I _would_ be doing this mission solo. But I need Piper since I can't read the blasted log book." Kai answered.

For some reason, that comment tweaked Starling. She wasn't quite sure why, but him specifically pointing out that he needed Piper for the mission….bothered her.

"What about the rest of us?" She asked, ignoring the slight tweak.

"That's a bit more complicated." Kai answered.

"Humor me." Starling shot back.

Kai raised an eyebrow at that. _"Since when did Star get snippy?"_ Shrugging, he decided to answer the question, even though it was a bit of a blow to his pride.

"It's because I'm not strong enough to do this by myself." He answered.

That one caught both Piper and Starling's attention.

"Not strong enough? Kai, you nearly destroyed terra Gerudo's arena. What on Atmos are you expecting us to come across out here?" Piper asked, now very worried.

"What? No! Not like that. Look, we know that Domiwick made a copy of the book, so it's a safe bet that Cyclonia knows everything that we do. That, combined with their resources, means that they will probably be going after all the locations mentioned in the log book." Kai answered.

"So we're going to stop them from getting anything right?" Piper asked.

Kai nodded his head, _yes_.

"But isn't that your job? I mean, Arygyn made it pretty clear that you've been doing a good job so far. Why the sudden change?" Piper asked.

"Because, like I said, I'm not strong enough to do all this by myself. I can, and have gone through Cyclonian bases and Ancient fortresses on my own. But then I need some time to heal up and recuperate. Rondana will vouch for that." Kai replied.

"So…it's because of the number of locations that you need assistance?" Starling asked.

"Yes. Like I said, one, I could do on my own. But not this many, not by a long shot. And, as I said before, I still need Piper to translate." Kai replied checking his instruments.

Again, there was that slight bristle.

"So, how long till we reach the Den?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"According to my estimates, we should be able to reach it by tomorrow morning, as long as we don't have any surprises along the way." Piper answered.

"_Great, more down time."_ Starling thought dryly.

Again there was the uncomfortable silence setting in. Piper had her log book, Kai was flying, and Marina was still sleeping. Starling meanwhile felt like she was sitting on pins.

"_Why didn't I at least bring something to read? A technical manual, dictionary, heck, I'd take one of those dumb Glamour magazines right now."_ She thought. _"Wait a minute. Rondana was reading a book back in the quarters, I wonder if she had any others."_ Getting up she left the cockpit and returned to the quarters.

Starling entered the quarters and was surprised to find it silent. Not quiet, not peaceful, but dead silent. Looking around, she figured out why fairly quickly.

"Where are Shadow and Tigger?" She asked.

"Kitchen. Said something about lunch." Rondana answered without looking up.

"Ah yes. Lunch..." Starling replied awkwardly.

Rondana sighed and put her book down. "Ok, what do you need?" She asked looking up at her 'guest' slightly irritated.

Starling glanced down at the book and back to the teen. "I was wondering if you…err…had any other books with you? I not used to spending this much time in such a small ship." She added.

Rondana raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you'd find my books particularly interesting. She replied holding it up so Starling could see the cover.

Starling, now a bit closer was able to see the cover, and agreed.

"_Ok Starling, there has got to be something to do on this ship other than read…Romance Novels."_ She thought with a shudder.

Rondana, noticing the reaction spoke up. "Oh come on, their not _that_ bad." She said laughing.

Starling shot her a dry look.

"Ok, so maybe they are kinda…trashy. But there is nothing wrong with a girl dreaming is there?" She asked with a grin.

Starling shook her head and was about to leave when the young teen grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back.

"Ok look, just, tell me, what's on you mind?" She asked seriously.

Looking at the younger girl, Starling though for a minute before sitting down beside her. She remembered hearing that Rondana seemed to have this air about her, one that just let people open up and talk. _"I guess being a ruler and a doctor has given her something close to empathic abilities, I guess….I guess there's no harm."_

"I just…I feel like a third wheel here." She said suddenly, surprising the young medic.

"What? Why would you think that? Starling, you're a Sky Knight, you've done things that other people only dream about doing, why would you of all people feel like a third wheel?"

Starling looked at her in surprise. "What could I possibly add to this team? You and Tigger are specialist, Piper can." Before she could continue Rondana cut her off.

"Ok, ok, now calm down. First you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and get over this mess with the Council." Before Starling could cut her off, she continued. "I know your hurt, and I know that you feel betrayed, but the sooner you move on, the better off you'll be. Trust me, I _know_."

Starling took a deep breath, and then spoke. "What comes after that?" She asked.

Rondana surprised her by not even batting an eye before answering.

"Find something that you can contribute to the team in part or as a whole." She replied.

Starling rolled her eyes. "That was the problem to begin with." She said tiredly.

Instead of snapping at her, as Starling had expected, Rondana answered her calmly, like someone would with a young child.

"You just need to find your nitch to fit in. Like you were going to say back in your little pity fest, we've got a good solid team, but that doesn't mean your not needed. In fact, I think you might be one of the most important people on this team." She said confidently.

Starling still didn't believe her, and was about to say as much when the doctor continued.

"You have something that none of us do. Something that makes you uniquely important, particularly to Kai." Rondana said, shifting from supportive to gravely serious.

"And what might that be?" Starling asked, not seeing where this is going.

Rondana opened her mouth to speak, but stopped for a moment before answering.

"Starling, Kai is going to need help, help only you can provide." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "You are a former flight lead, and squad captain. Even though it has been a while since you led a team, at least you _have_ led a team. Kai hasn't. Just think of this as another training lesson if that helps." She said smiling at the end.

Starling thought it over for a second before nodding in agreement. "I can see your point, but I don't think I would be suited to lead this mission."

Rondana wanted to bang her head on the wall behind her.

"I didn't say to take the mission over. Just give Kai a hand, help him out you know? I'm pretty sure that he would take anything you said into consideration, and he would always at least listen to your opinion. Kai's stubborn, not stupid." She said.

Starling chuckled. "On that matter, I will not argue in the least." She said shaking her head.

"Great, now that you're feeling better can I get back to my book, or do I need to start my hourly rates with you?" Rondana asked picking up her book and settling back down to read.

Starling gave a slight smile before getting up. "I'm going to make sure Shadow and Tigger stay out of trouble, and perhaps get a bite to eat." She said leaving the room.

Rondana, now by herself, was grinning like the cat that ate the canary. _"Perfect. Stage one is a success."_ Then looking back at her book, she sighed. "Why oh why Lance? Just because she's your dead wife's reincarnated half sister cant you see that she's just using you?" She said to herself.

Starling entered the kitchen and was surprised to find both Shadow and Tigger sitting at the one table clutching their stomachs, along with a very hungry looking Radarr and Griffy at their feet.

"Is something wrong?" Starling asked slightly surprised to find the two so quiet.

"I think we forgot the food back at terra Deep." Tigger said banging her head on the table.

Starling's eyes widened.

"Yeah, all there is are these weird foil wrapper thingies." Shadow said tossing one to Starling.

Starling shook her head. "This is food. Just not the type you're used to." She said tearing open the packet.

"What are you talking about? All that's in these things is soap." Tigger said holding up what did indeed look like a bar of soap.

"Its tofu, of course it looks like soap." Starling said shaking her head. _"Not to mention it tastes about the same."_ She thought with a shudder.

"Tofu? Ugh you mean that nasty bean stuff. Yarg!" Shadow said pointing at her throat.

"Well, did you look to see if there was anything else?" Starling asked.

"We checked the entire kitchen and the storage junk. We've got about five hundred pounds of those packets and about fifty gallons of water." Tigger replied sourly.

Opening a few cabinets, Starling found that they were right, in that there were enough packets to feed an army, but were wrong about them all being the same.

"Did you bother to check the labels?" She asked dangling one from hand with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked, to hungry to even think of thinking clearly at the moment.

"These are MRE's and they actually have quite a few different types. If your interested, this one is beef stew." She said.

_Fttph_

Now holding nothing.

"What the?" Looking down she found Radarr tearing open the foil wrapper and now holding what looked like a red and brown brick.

_Crack_

_ARRRGGUU!_

Radarr threw the 'brick' at the wall where it made a dent, and was hoping around clutching his jaw in pain.

Starling rolled her eyes. "You have to cook it first. Their dehydrated."

Radarr grabbed something from his mouth and held it up to get a better look.

And promptly fainted when he recognized it as one of his teeth.

At this time Marina stumbled into the kitchen and was clutching her stomach. "Where's the food?" She asked, half tired half irritated.

Starling held up a few more packets, at which Marina groaned. "Oh you have got to be kidding me. That stuff's almost as bad as Whatever Stew." She fumed.

"Whatever?" Tiger began.

"Stew?" Shadow finished.

Marina waved them off. I'll tell you about it another time." She then turned to Starling. "You cook?" She asked bluntly.

Starling hung her head slightly. "Not really, no." She answered recalling her last 'attempt' at cooking a few days ago back in terra Deep.

To her credit, the fire had been limited to the kitchen.

That time.

Marina groaned again. "Stuck on a cramped little freighter with a bunch or girls that cant cook and a captain that fly's like a mad man." She grumbled before moving Starling out of the way, and pulled out a large pot and grabbed several random packets.

"What are you making?" Shadow asked looking at the large pot.

"Meh, whatever stew I guess." She said tearing open the little packets without even bothering to check the labels.

The rest of the day, surprisingly passed without much incident.

The whatever stew turned out….edible. With the only problem being the single packet of tofu that was in the mix. Tigger and Shadow went to the hanger to catch up a bit more and check on the skimmers, while Marina and Piper retired for the evening.

All that was left was Rondana, Starling, and a single bowl of whatever stew.

"Rondana, would you mind taking this to Kai?" Starling asked handing over the before mentioned bowl.

"What? Why me?" Rondana asked, silently wanting to get back to her book. _"I still haven't finished the flaming sword dual yet! Wondecamo had Lance hanging on the ropes of the bridge and was about to."_

"Rondana? Is everything ok?" Starling asked; slightly worried about the far out distant look in the medics eyes.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yea, I guess. What are you doing?" She asked.

Starling rolled up her sleeves and went over to the table picking up the bowls. "I might not be able to cook, but I can still clean up. Besides, I need to do something or I'll lose what little mind I've left. I'm not used to all this down time." She said carrying the dishes over to the kitchens sink.

"The great Starling, Sky Knight supreme, and trainer of the great and mighty Kai washing dishes. I never thought I'd see the day." Piper teased.

Starling shot the girl a knowing look, as if to say, _if you want, we can trade._

"I just needed to get something, don't mind me." She said grinning nervously as she went to the table and reached under it. "Come on Radarr, time for bed." She said slinging the now plumb sky monkey over her shoulder (who belched) and walking out of the room.

Griffy, equally stuffed, wobbled out from under the table and followed to the best of his abilities.

Rondana shook her head and picked up the bowl before heading to the ships cockpit.

"Delivery fo the cap'an." Rondana said in her best 'old seaman's tongue' impression.

Kai chuckled and got up to open the door.

Not too long ago, they had reached terra Amazonia, and Kai had landed the ship in the dense forest, not wanting to risk landing in a port and being spotted.

"Why did you stay up here all day? Doesn't this ship have a park gear?" She asked with a small chuckle.

Kai laughed. "Yes, it does. But I wanted to make sure we reached the terra as quickly as possible." Kai replied.

"So? Why didn't you come up to eat after we landed?" She asked handing him the somehow still steaming hot bowl.

Kai groaned as he took the bowl.

"I forgot to recharge the cloaking crystals before we left terra Deep. So I had to swap them out after we landed." Kai said between mouthfuls of the whatever stew.

"This stuffs pretty good. Who made it?" Kai asked suddenly.

"Huh? Oh, Marina made it. She called it whatever stew. Wait a minute, did you say cloaking crystals?" Rondana asked.

"Yes, cloaking crystals. This ship is pretty much entirely powered by, and runs off of crystal power. It makes repairs quick and easy. Not to mention saves me a ton on fuel." Kai replied grinning as he slurped the last of the bowls contents.

Rondana couldn't help but laugh at the little joke. "How do you make a ship run entirely on crystals and not have to refuel? Wouldn't that make the ship need more than normal?" She asked.

Now, Rondana was, first and foremost a doctor, and even though she knew little about anything mechanical, she could detect when a person was most comfortable. Seeing an open window, she decided to go for it.

"Well, yeah, normally it would. But I put a bunch of Solaris and Lunar crystals on the top, so they charge it up as long as the sky's clear." Kai replied, genuinely surprised at the doctors sudden interest.

"Hmm that's pretty smart, who taught you to do that?" She asked.

"Nobody, it just sort of…made sense to me. I was surprised that nobody else thought of it actually." Kai said, unsure what was going on.

"Oh well, I better call it a night. If I'm going to be of any help to you tomorrow I'll need my beauty sleep." She said leaving the confused male alone.

"Ok, that was weird." Kai said heading to the kitchen to drop off his bowl.

Rondana smirked to herself as she got ready for bed. _"It shouldn't be too much longer before I get him to start talking. I just need to make sure that he knows I'll listen to anything he wants to talk about, and that I won't criticize him or anything."_ She thought before drifting off to sleep, and softly muttering "Lance"

Kai was surprised to see Starling of all people washing the dishes. For a second he thought about getting a Kodak crystal, but decided against it. "What are you doing?" He asked, thoroughly amused at the sight before him.

Starling held up a pair of soapy, rubber gloved hands and gave him a wiry grin. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"I know _what_ you are doing; I was just curious _why_ you were doing it, that's all. No reason to get offended." He said holding up his hands in defense.

Grabbing the bowl from his hand, she went back to work on the dishes. "Someone had to do it. Besides it's not like I've done much since joining up with you." She said narrowing her eyes at one little speck that didn't seem to want to come off of the porcelain bowl.

"You mean aside from nearly burn down my base?" Kai teased before making a mad dash for the exit.

"What?! I told you that was an acci! GRR!" Starling clinched her fists and went back to finishing what she was doing.

Kai, now in the safety of the cockpit, let a grin spread across his face as he let the back down and pulled up a blanket from under the seat. "Not as nice as a bed, but it'll have to do." He said before dozing off.

Starling, now finished with the dishes returned to the 'girls quarters' as Shadow and Tigger had dubbed it, and looked around with a sharp eye.

"_I don't know the others all that well, and Kai is out of the question. I still can't believe I'm actually going to do this."_ Starling felt a tiny bit of dread fill her stomach as she crept her way over to Piper's bed and gently tapped her shoulder a few times.

Then poked.

Then prodded.

And eventually gave in and simply shook the girl awake.

"Huh wha goning on?" The bluenette asked looking around groggily.

Radarr took this opportunity to get away since in her confusion Piper had released her 'hug of doom' on the poor monkey.

"_She's stronger asleep than Junko is awake."_ He thought as he gasped for breath.

"Piper, I'm sorry to wake you, but...." Starling bit her lip. "Could I ask you a small favor?"

Piper was still half way in la la land, so she was running on auto pilot.

"Hmm? Wha iz it?" She asked yawning, barely staying awake.

"I was….I was wondering if….you wouldn't mind….teaching me…how to cook." Starling said hanging her head down in shame at the last part.

"M'k,." Piper said turning over to go back asleep.

Starling smiled brightly. "Thank you Piper, thank you very much."

Her only reply was a half snore, but it was all the same to her. Climbing up to the bunk above Piper's, she quickly went to sleep, still smiling.

Up in the cockpit, Kai felt a cold shiver run down his spine and sat up to look around. "Why did I suddenly feel like I was going to see something very important for the last time in my life?" He asked nobody before shaking his head and going back to sleep.

"Meh, must have been the stew."

End Chapter 1

AN: Ok, I know some of this might have seemed a bit…random. But I didn't want this entire story to be gloomy and serious. I'm a major RPG gamer, and I know for a fact that there are always a few tidbits of funny in them. It helps to keep the balance of the story from getting to serious or emo. It also helps people to identify with the characters by showing a different side of them you would otherwise never see. Now, not every chapter is going to be this light hearted. In fact, some will be rather dark, but there will be a chapter like this, or even more light hearted every so often.

Now, for some bonus points to my readers.

Special prize for the first person to correctly guess the RPG I made fun of with Shadow Tigger and Rondana. Also, extra if you can guess who the characters they were describing were.

SUPER MEGA BONUS! For whoever can identify where the content (meaning names and events) of Rondana's book came from. (No I do NOT read Romance Novels, I, like every other male am deathly allergic to those things.) _*Shudders*_

That's all for now, but tune in next time for

Chapter 2: Ancient Flames! Present Banes!


	2. Ancient Flames! Present Pains!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 2: Ancient Flames! Present Pains!

AN: Ah chapter two, I had a little trouble with this chapter. I knew how I wanted it to end, but getting to that point was the hard part. In this chapter, readers will learn a bit more about why it is that Kai takes his job so seriously, get to see a bit more character development, and will be introduced to one of my most HATED creatures in all of video gaming history. Also, on a side note, I've had to go back and redesign the Ancient ship for the end. Why you might ask? Because Storm Hawks stole my idea in last week's episode (the one with the Dragon's) and I might even have to change another important element depending on one of the other upcoming episodes. (Crossing my fingers that I won't) Anyways, thank you to those that reviewed. They keep me going and are my inspiration for continuing. I'll try to respond to them when I get time. If I haven't responded yet, it doesn't mean that I won't, it just means I haven't had access to a phone line for longer than a few minutes yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, and this story.

Shadow and Griffy are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Narrator01

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made by and owned by MissDedodakes

Kai paced nervously in front of the gang plank that he had yet to lower. Last night they had managed to find the Phoenix Den fairly quickly. This however did little to comfort the Scion, quite the opposite actually.

"_People are dumb, not stupid. There is no way that something like this could have not been found over the course of a thousand years. It wasn't even hidden, it's almost like someone wanted us to."_

"Kai! Everything alright?"

Kai flinched at the voice of Shadow. It was true that she was one of his closest friends, and anyone who knew them would say they were almost like brother and sister. But he did have reservations about bringing the young teen with him, heck; he had reservations about bringing _anybody_ with him. But, as he had said yesterday, he had no choice in the matter.

"_I wonder who it was? Fate? Destiny? Chance? Luck? Arygyn? Which of the lot finally got me pinned by their blade?"_

"Kai? Everyone is here and ready to go." Piper said giving a mock salute.

"_Arygyn, definitely Arygyn."_ Kai thought narrowing his eyes.

"I still don't see why I had to change." Rondana said crossing her arms.

"Rondana, this is the wastelands. Things catch on fire very easily down here, and your dress would certainly pose a fire hazard." Starling answered.

"Um, I had a question." Shadow said raising her hand.

"Yes Shadow?" Kai said, keeping his tone as civil as he could.

The morning had been a complete and utter disaster. Starling had yet again tried her hand at cooking, this time with Piper's assistance. And though it didn't catch anything on fire, Kai was still hungry from having nothing to eat yet. (He had dropped the 'food' into a hidden compartment in the kitchen when she was looking the other way.)

After that he had to get Starling to back him up and force Rondana into changing her usual attire, which meant finding something close her size. Twenty minutes and five restitching's later they managed to make something work.

And now, here they were.

"Uh, why can't we have our armor on? Not that I usually care about, but I don't like the idea of fighting without anything protecting me at all." Shadow said picking at the flight suit she was wearing currently.

"Shadow, if you wear armor out there, it will heat up to the point of causing you burns and give you some rather nasty scars. Besides, I don't think armor would do much good against anything that we come across down here anyways." Kai said the last part under his breath.

"So, can we go now?" Tigger asked slightly board.

"Just as soon as I go over a few ground rules." Kai said turning to face his temporary team.

"Ok, look, I know that I'm not exactly at the top of anyone's list as most desired leader, but I have been through this kind of thing before. So please remember that this is for all of our safety, not just yours. First, stay behind me; I go first into any rooms or halls we come across. That way I can check for any traps, second, don't touch anything, a n y t h i n g. Ok?"

Seeing everyone nod, he continued.

"Ok, third, last, and most important, if I tell you any of you to do anything, particularly in the form of a shout or scream of some sort. Drop what you are doing and do exactly what I tell you then and there, no questions asked." Seeing that everyone was in agreement he turned to Griffy and Radarr.

"Guy's I'm sorry, but this is one mission you two need to stay behind on. Next time you can come with us, but this time its humans only ok?"

Radarr and Griffy turned to Piper and Shadow for their orders, which were to do as told, and returned to the quarters area to get back to the sleep they were so rudely awoken from for the so called 'food' that had nearly killed them.

Kai flipped the toggle and lowered the plank, blasting them all with a rush of scalding hot air.

Kai led the way and the others followed him, traveling in two groups of three, with Starling between the two groups and Kai.

Marina felt a cold shiver run down her spine.

"_No doubt about it, this is the place. That must mean that whoever that…thing was is here somewhere. I just have to make sure I keep the group together and don't let myself get separated from the others at any time. Hmm, but I don't remember there being any mountains in my dream."_

Looking around she saw the same desolate landscape as she had in her dream/vision. Rock, rock, and a river of lava all around them. Large mantle worms broke the surface every now and then only to fall back in with a large eruption following, and a few Flame Falcons flew overhead. Not close enough to see clearly, but just enough to make out what they were.

The place they had landed looked like a large flat grey disk in the center of a ocean of lava. A disk that just so happened to be connected to a very large mountain's base, almost like a ring.

Piper looked around slightly confused._ "I thought this was an Ancient port or ship landing. Where would the ships have landed in all this?"_ She thought as she took in her surroundings.

Tigger's thoughts were more focused on trying to figure out how any type of machine could possibly work down here._ "Anything metal would melt, and anything cooled would break from thermal shock. No way that anything could have ever been down here at any point in time. It's just not possible."_ She thought.

They reached the wall of mountain, and Kai started to search it carefully, like something was missing.

"Something wrong?" Rondana asked, still a bit peeved about having to wear a flight suit.

"Not exactly. I'm looking for something." Kai replied without looking away. He just continued to move his hands across the rocky surface deftly and feathery.

"What are you looking for? Perhaps we could help?" Starling asked as she watched the river of lava with more than a bit of fear.

"I'll know it when I see, ah, there you are." Kai said grinning as he found a flat portion of rock that had a single small hole in the center.

Reaching under his neckline, he pulled out the tricrystal and inserted the red side into the hole and turned it.

At first nothing happened, but soon mechanical gears could be heard groaning and whining to life and the ground began to tremble.

"Kai! What did you do!" Piper shouted as she tried to keep her ground.

The others didn't fare much better, with Kai, Starling and Marina being the only exceptions.

Rock began to fall from the mountain into the river of molten rock, small bits and pieces at first, eventually growing to the size of skimmers, and finally even larger pieces. They dodged the smaller pieces with easy, thankfully, and Kai and Piper managed to blast the larger ones into smaller, more dodgeable size chunks.

Five minutes later, when the ground finally stopped trembling, the group stared up in awe at what they saw.

A large metal spire now stood in place of what had been a mountain. It looked vaguely like an umbrella that was missing the cloth part and was still unopened.

"What on Atmos is that?" Shadow asked breaking the (somewhat) silent moment. (The lava was still bubbling)

"That, is the Phoenix Den." Kai said studying the large structure with a critical eye.

"_I've never seen anything like this before. What kind of port was this?"_ Kai thought.

"Well, let's get this over with. I don't know how much longer I can stand this thing." Rondana said tugging at the flight suits neck.

"Alright, just remember what I told you ok? These things were made to keep out intruders, like us, from getting in, like we want to. So stick close and keep quiet." Kai said leading the group to what looked like a massive set of doors.

"I still don't see how this thing could have survived all this time." Tigger said as she followed.

"Well, it _was_ covered by rock. Maybe it got covered in an eruption a long time ago, and all the rock kept it safe from the lava." Piper said thinking out loud.

The group reached the doors, but found that they were somehow sealed, from the outside, Tigger pointed out.

"_Ok, something is seriously wrong here. Why would this thing have been sealed from the outside?"_ Kai thought, liking the situation less and less with every passing second.

Tigger made short work of the seal, but it still took Kai and Marina both to pry open the metal doors.

"Guess they didn't expect anyone to be coming back in." Tigger said studying the insides of the door as she walked inside.

"Woah, what happened here?" Piper asked looking around at the floor level of the Ancient construct.

"Jeeze, it looks like a bomb went off in here." Shadow said looking around.

Marina remained silent. The being from her two dream/visions could certainly replicate the damage she was seeing, but something was wrong. All the damage was….old. It wasn't recent by any means. It looked like it had happened a long, long time ago.

Burn and scorch marks adorned the walls, and looking up, they could see huge gaping holes that a skimmer could easily fly through that went through several floors both above, and below them.

"Looks like we missed the party." Shadow said nervously.

Rondana stared blankly at one section of wall for several seconds before speaking. "I think that was a good thing." She said pointing to where she had been staring.

The group turned to look where she had been pointing and had various reactions. Piper and Shadow gaped, Starling's mind automatically went into 'mission mode' Marina's hands found themselves at the scimitar hilts on her waist and Kai.

Kai felt a genuine sense of dread settle in.

Before them were six huge claw marks that tore through the metal wall. Each of the claw lines was large enough for a person to stand inside and each were spaced just as far apart.

Kai looked around and quickly took note of how far it was to get back to the ship, and compared it with a single memory he had prayed long and hard to never have to recount again as long as he lived.

"It's too far." He said under his breath.

"Did you say something Kai?" Starling asked, causing him to jump slightly.

"Oh, uh, listen guys, why don't you head back to the ship and let me handle this one alone." Kai said swallowing.

"What' going on?" Shadow asked slightly hurt that her friend was trying to ditch them already.

"Shhhhhh!" Kai said holding one finger to his lips. "Keep your voices down. Look, I know I brought you here to help, but if that…_thing_ is here, it changes everything. You just have to trust me on this." Kai pleaded.

Starling grabbed Kai by the shoulder and spun him around. "_What_ exactly is it you're talking about."

Kai was still trying his best at getting used to sharing information, but something like this he wasn't ready to talk about.

"Look, just….just imagine your worst nightmare and times it by ten. After that, you're still not even close. Just please take the others back to the ship and let me deal with this." Kai once again pleaded.

Starling narrowed her eyes and poked Kai in the chest. "No. You might be flight lead, but if this mission is going to have any chance of success we need to keep you in one piece. We can't have you going on some suicide charge this early on to fight something you had trouble with on your own in the past.

Kai's mind, heart, and being were all screaming three very different things at the same time. His brain, more precisely his memories reminded him that he didn't just have _trouble_ with said problem, but had in fact _lost_ and lost _badly_ last time he had come across one of these things. His heart was screaming to knock out every last one of them and drag them out of the base, while his being screamed to leave with them and blast the Ancient port from the (in this case relative) safety of his ship.

Realizing that option A would result in six very angry female tenants, and option B could leave behind something possibly dangerous, Kai relented.

"Ok, but…look, the possibility of us surviving through this base just dropped into the single digits if the thing that made that mark is still here." Kai said seriously.

_Silence_

"S…single digits." Shadow squeaked.

"There's a good chance it's gone, but if it's not, I felt you deserved to know ahead of time." He said moving to a set of stairs the wound upwards to the top, and slowly climbing up.

The girls all looked around from one another and back to the moving form of their friend. They quickly nodded and followed him to the stairs.

Hearing the fall of footsteps coming from behind him, Kai shook his head and frowned slightly, but was careful to not let it show.

They reached the next floor, and with help from Marina, Kai was able to force open the first set of doors. They all cringed at the sound of scraping metal, now fearing that they would give away their location to anything that might wish them ill.

A few lights flickered on and off, but for the most part the room was pitch-black. Strangely enough the room seemed to be empty, almost totally void of anything.

"I don't like this." Kai said scanning over the room.

Starling and Marina nodded in agreement. Something was…off about the entire situation.

"Still, we've got a job to do." Kai said reaching into the mission pack on his back and after removing an orange colored crystal, he held it in one hand. Then, reaching into a pouch on his pants pulled out a dark red crystal and touched the two together for a brief second until they glowed lightly.

Looking around the room, he found a spot that looked good and went up to it. Taking out his slicer blade, he cut a hole into the wall and shoved the orange crystal into it.

"Ok, one down, let's keep going. And remember to stay quiet." He warned.

This continued for what seemed to be several hours. They pried open a room, which was almost always empty, and Kai would repeat the process he had done in the first room. Even though nothing had happened yet, they didn't want to risk anything. This was new territory to them, and the fact that the only one in their group that had dealt with this sort of thing before was constantly looking over his shoulder and around the room did little to inspire them.

They repeated the process for every room on ten floors before Kai told them they were done setting up. All that was left was what he called 'Doom Patrol' which was basically going over every square inch they had covered already with a fine tooth comb before going back up to the top floor.

"Why do we have to check again?" Shadow asked as they went over the same empty room for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

"Because small things can make a large difference in the end. If I set this thing off and anything is left over I need to make sure it's nothing useful, or at least nothing usable." Kai replied as he felt along the walls for any sort of hidden switch or device.

"What could make a difference? I mean it's not like you could hide a ship in here and not see it." Shadow shot back as she arched her back to work out some of the kinks that had formed in it. Several hours on your knees felling along the floor would do that to anyone.

"A single crystal can make all the difference." Starling answered looking up only to see Kai's shoulders slump slightly.

"I don't think we'll find anything else here or any other floor." Rondana said stretching her knees.

"We're not done yet, we still have the top floor to check." Kai said leading them back to the stairs.

As the group climbed, Marina found herself wondering just why they had gone nearly to the top, only to go back and check each floor back to the bottom, and then go back to the top. It didn't make much sense to her, so she asked. Kai's answer, while surprising her, did make some sense.

"I found though…experience…that most of the bigger problems tend to happen at the top, bottom, or end, whichever point is the farthest from the exit when it comes to the Ancients. That's why I check everything and then back track to the exit twice, that way I have it memorized and am mostly certain that I haven't left anything behind that I need to go back for in the event of…an emergency." Kai replied.

When they reached the top floor, Kai crouched down and looked at the ground carefully for several minutes before picking up a small piece of debris and throwing it a little distance from himself. After a few seconds passed and nothing happened, he threw a few more pieces at different spots before finally setting his foot on the ground.

"What was that about?" Tigger asked confused.

"He was checking for traps." Marina said, recognizing the actions as ones that she had once been taught long ago.

Kai went a short distance, stopped, then motioned for the others to follow him, but to walk slowly, so as not to upset anything.

The top floor was far worse than the others had been. The other floors had simply been devoid of anything. The top floor however looked like something had bitten it several times, chewed it, and then spat it into a wall. There were several large holes that lined the walls, some more claw marks, burn holes, and several holes that looked like a cross between a burn and a tear.

Tigger shuddered at these having recognized them instantly as acid marks.

"Whatever attacked this thing, I think it was after whatever was up here." Starling said narrowing her eyes.

"I think your right." Kai said taking careful steps to the one door that was on the top floor.

They were all surprised when it opened with a hissing sound as soon as he got close to it.

Shrugging his shoulders, Kai walked in with the others close behind.

"Oh God." Shadow managed to get out before turning away for fear of losing her breakfast.

Tigger, Rondana, Piper and even Starling were close to having the same reaction to some degree. The only ones that weren't in immediate danger of losing their stomachs contents were Marina, (who had seen such sights before) and Kai (who had also seen similar sights, and whose stomach was still empty).

What was before them was a grisly mess. Several skeletons littered the ground, all had apparently died in…less than peaceful ways apparently, and all had tried to some degree to make it to the room's one exit, none apparently made it.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Piper said covering her mouth and shaking her head.

Rondana, as a doctor had some experience with situations like this, but not enough to be completely unaffected. She still felt sick, but had enough strength left in her to provide some comfort to Shadow and Tigger, neither of which had ever seen anything anywhere close to this before.

"Marina, it looks like it's just the two of us this time. Check the area as best you can, and field strip the bodies. Remember, we can't leave behind anything." Kai said walking towards the closest skeleton.

Marina nodded her head and went to the opposite side of the room, where she began checking.

Starling, after gaining some degree of control got up and was about to help when Kai stopped her.

"Star, if you don't mind, could you hang back a bit. The others aren't in the best of shape right now, and we can't afford to split up, could you stay with them and keep an eye and ear out for us?" Kai asked still searching the first body.

"Sur..sure….I can do that." Starling said, honestly relieved.

Marina kept silent. She knew it was important that someone watch the exit, but the way Kai had reacted caught her attention. He hadn't said anything until _after_ she had started to help them out. She grinned slightly, but that faded when she found a necklace on the skeleton she was checking. It appeared to be a heart shaped locket and was made of gold. Opening it, she frowned at seeing the two pictures inside that had been preserved by time and placed it back around the skeletons neck.

Even thieves had their limits at what they would take, and she was sure that the necklace would be destroyed along with the skeleton it was on.

Kai had just finished checking the last of the skeletons, so he was now checking the room itself. His actions were almost robotic in nature, having performed them so many times before. He had long ago grown immune to such things, though that didn't mean he liked them any more than he had the first time. Truth be told, he had no intention of ever cleaning a single article of clothing he was currently wearing, same with the cloths the girls had on. Anything that touched a skeleton, or anything related to a corpse was dropped into the wastelands. Every time he would look at a pair of gloves that had picked up a skull, or a pair of boots that had stepped on a single human bone, he would see that action play over and over again. Besides, it wasn't like he was in any danger of running out of flight suits, or any type of clothing for that matter. He could open a small store should he ever need the gold, and he hated doing laundry.

"_What is this?"_ He thought.

In the center of the room was a cluster of crystals of various sizes and shapes, all glowing faintly. Around them was a dull looking metal collar that had writing on it.

Looking up, he saw the others close to the exit, all facing the other way. He couldn't really blame them, and, they had done better than he had the first time he had ever come face to face with a skeleton.

"Piper. Could you…could you come here for a second." Kai called out. He really did feel bad about putting them through this. He knew that after a person came face to face with something like this, it changed them permanently. He only hoped that this wouldn't be yet another notch mark against him in life.

Piper swallowed, and without turning called back. "What is it?"

Kai shook his head. "I need you to translate something for me." He called across the room.

Piper nodded and was about to turn when Starling stopped her.

"Piper, close your eyes and take my hand. I'll guide you ok?" She said holding the trembling girls arm, trying to will some of her own strength to the younger girl.

Piper nodded her head and said a quick thank you before closing her eyes and letting herself be guided to where Kai was standing patently.

When they reached the spot, Starling let go and headed back to the others while Piper looked over the engravings with keen interest.

Kai watched as Piper dusted off the metal collar, and looked over the writing. Seeing her hands tremble and body shake every time she peered out of the corner of her eyes felt like a stab to him.

"_Man Aerrow's going to rip me a new one after this is over with."_ He thought shaking his head.

"Ok, this is just plain weird." She finally said after going over the runes several times.

"What do they say?" Kai asked. It wasn't everyday that Piper of all people said something was 'just plain weird'. Due to the exploits of her squadron, she was probably the world's foremost expert in weird. So for her to even call something a bit odd was a major accomplishment in of itself.

"Well, these are controls for…that can't be right. I must have mistranslated it." She said checking it over a third time.

"What? What does it say?" Kai asked getting impatient.

Piper looked at Kai was a disbelieving face.

"It says flight control system."

"Wait a minute, you mean that…this thing…" Kai couldn't even finish the sentence. Sure he had seen the power of the Ancients on more than one occasion, he was living proof of such, but to believe that they could make something the size of Lark's palace fly? That was leagues beyond anything he had ever come across.

"I guess that's why we didn't see anything that looked like a port when it came online." Piper said still dazed by the discovery.

"But…for this thing to fly would have taken a tremendous amount of power, even more than the Storm Engine, and that was powered by the Aurora Stone." Kai said suddenly needing leaning against the crystal formation.

Piper just shook her head in disbelief. "If Lark were to ever find this thing…" She left the rest in the air. Not wanting to even think about the possibilities.

Leaning forward, her hand brushed against one of the crystals, which glowed faintly in response and hummed lightly.

Kai jumped when the metal plates covering the viewports shifted and parted down the center, opening like a giant door.

"Piper, what did you do?" Kai asked through his teeth.

"It was an accident! I swear I didn't mean to!" Piper said quickly backing away from the control.

"Please Kai, I'm really really sorry. Please…uh…Kai..are you ok?" Piper asked.

She had expected him to explode; she had expected him to be angry.

She had not expected him to be completely silent.

Looking up, she saw something she had only seen once in her life.

Kai with a fearful expression on his face.

Not spooked, not jittery or jumpy. Not even frightened.

Just plain morbid fear.

Not moving an inch, Kai spoke in a quiet voice that carried an undertone of urgency that Starling had never heard from Kai in all the years she had known him.

"I want everyone to listen to me very _very_ closely. I want you to walk quickly and above all quietly out of this room, down the stairs and get to the ship now. Do not for any reason stop, do not for any reason speak, and whatever you do, don't look back."

"Go, now." Kai said not moving an inch.

Shadow, Tigger, Rondana and Starling, all being close to the exit were more than just a little caught off guard by Kai's order. They were about to move when something strange happened.

The pouch that Marina wore around her neck glowed faintly orange, while Shadow's necklace glowed with a cold blue light, and Kai's holster glowed with a purplish black light.

"Snap." Kai muttered under his breath.

The next thing they heard was a rumbling sound, followed by a sound that could only be described as very long nails being dragged across a chalkboard somehow mixed with hissing air.

"MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT! GET GOING NOW!" Kai shouted.

End chapter 2

AN:Muhahahahahahaha! Looks like next will be _its_ first appearance, and though I doubt anyone knows what it is or has ever even heard of it, this chapter should have given enough hints as to what it is capable of doing. I know this chapter was short, but not every chapter is going to be really long. Ten pages is my minimum though, so this is about as short of a chapter that any of you can expect seeing. As for why this one was a bit short, its kinda hard to write a long chapter about a group of seven exploring an empty base, I think I did good just getting this much up.

I hope that I have gotten you hungry for the next chapter,

An Ancient Terror Awakens!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	3. An Ancient Terror Awakens!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 3: An Ancient Terror Awakens!

AN: Ok chapter three is here! Now before I go any further, I want to apologize for two things. First for falling behind on TDT. I love the story, but it takes me almost a week just to write up one chapter of it, and I haven't had that kind of time lately. Secondly, while it might be good, this is probably the single most Suesh chapter I have ever written. Sorry, but it had to be done for reasons you'll see later.

Now, some of you have tried to guess as to what the creature is. As I said before, I doubt any of you have ever even heard of the thing, it's exclusive to a single video game that came out about 10 years ago. I do have a link to a picture of it in my profile, along with links to several other pictures that I used for inspiration for this story and some of my others, they're worth checking out as they help you get a better mental picture of what I'm trying to describe. And as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Do you really want my chapters to be several thousand words longer? Lol. Also, Arishi, since you correctly guessed the video game I mocked last chapter (Final Fantasy VII) you get to claim your prize. I'll PM you the specifics. Oh, and the book Rondana was reading last chapter? It came from a soap opera from the Teen Titans episode 'Episode 257-494' (No that's not my inner geek speaking, that was the actual episode's title) However, I will be adding to it as the story continues.

Oh, and btw, anyone else notice how several of the newest episodes of Storm Hawks are similar to my work? Yeah, I did too. So if anyone from Nerd Corps is reading this, I don't mind you using my work as a reference, I only ask 2 things. 1. That you review, and 2. PUT STARLING IN AT LEAST ONE EPISODE OF SEASON 2! P.S. A Dragon Knight is called a DRAGOON!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, and this story.

Shadow and Griffy are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Narrator01

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made by and owned by MissDedodakes

Kai felt his lungs tighten and sweat form across his brow. Every hair on his body was standing on end and he felt like an electric current was passing through him. All this was familiar to him; they were the signs of an oncoming adrenalin rush. One that he had hoped never to feel again.

It was not the type that he got when free falling, nor was it the type he got from fighting powerful opponents.

No, this was the type of adrenalin rush that one got when they knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that they were more than likely about to die.

He slowly moved in between the girls and the now open viewport, and did the only thing he could think of.

Pray.

"Get moving. Now!" Kia hissed.

They all heard a cracking sound, like nut shells being crushed in a giant's hand. This was followed by a groaning and whining sound that they recognized to be metal buckling under stress.

"What are you waiting for?" Kai whispered harshly as he turned to the others.

He felt every nerve in his body go off when he caught sight of them.

He told them to leave.

He told them to leave quickly.

He told them not to look back.

They had done none of these things.

They had looked back, and now they were frozen in place at the sight of what was before them.

With the viewports open, they could see that something had been clinging to the side of the Ancient construct. Something that despite the passage of time, and being incased in molten lava, had survived.

Cracks formed across its body, cracks that spread across its surface like a spider web, and widened with each passing second.

"RUN!" Kai shouted at the top of his lungs, knocking the group back into reality and out of their stupor.

It took a second for the command to register, but just as the group turned to run; they were frozen in place by an ear shattering screech that made them fall to their knees in pain.

_**SSSSCCCCRRREEEEEEE**_

"WHAT IS THAT THING?!" Piper shouted above the high pitch screech.

None of them could move a muscle. The deafening screech held them in place until the last of the shell incasing the creature fell off. Then just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

"GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Kai shouted as soon as he regained the ability to move.

Tigger had almost reached the door when a huge arm came through the wall and almost crushed her.

"AHH! Where did that come from?!" Tigger shouted as she stared at the now open wall. Leaning forward, she saw that the stairs that they had used to climb up had been destroyed.

They were trapped.

"Kai! What is that thing?!" Starling shouted pulling free her weapon.

"Kai! What do we do?!" Piper called out fumbling with her staff holster.

"Kai!" Shadow shouted.

"Kai!" Tigger screamed.

_Flashback _

Kai was running for his life through the dark halls of an Ancient temple that he had found a few days ago.

Everything had been going fine. The place was littered with traps, but he had gotten by them without setting off a single one. He had found the crystal lab at the bottom floor, destroyed anything that he couldn't carry out, and was just about to leave.

He had been careless.

Without even thinking twice about what he was doing, Kai made his way to the exit. Confident that he had disabled all of the traps, and that there was nothing left that would pose as a threat.

The only thing left to do was destroy the large, and in his opinion, grotesque statue that was at the very back of the lab.

Pulling his slicer blade free, he made a single cut into one of its legs and was about to insert a det-charge crystal when he noticed that something was off.

"Is that…blood?" He said out loud. Kneeling down, he smeared his hand across the growing puddle that was forming at the base of the statue. Following the trickle that fed it, he saw that it was coming from the cut he had made just a few seconds ago.

"What the?"

_**SSSSSCCRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE**_

_Flashback end_

"I'll distract it, the rest of you use your emergency parachutes and jump down the stairway. When you hit the ground get to the ship, and bring it back here. But don't fire at it ok!" Kai shouted pulling his tri-staff out and extending it to its full length.

"What?! We're not leaving you here to fight that, THING!" Starling shouted dropping into an offensive stance.

"You can't fight it! Haven't you listened to a word that I've said?!" Kai shouted as he ducked under one of the creature's massive hands.

_Flashback_

Kai ducked under the enormous hand that swiped at him.

Said hand continued onward and broke through a nearby stone wall as though it were made of toothpicks.

_**SSSCCRREEEEEEE**_

"COME ON UGLY! IS THAT THE BEST YOU'VE GOT!" Kai shouted.

He had thrown everything he had at the creature, but nothing seemed to even slow it down.

He barely managed to roll to the side in time to dodge an ice coated foot.

Through the stomp missed him, it did break the remaining ice from its leg off.

Kai had tried blasting it with normal crystal fire. That only seemed to get its attention, not hurt it in any way, shape, or form. When that failed, he tried burning it, hoping that the thing was weak against fire, or that the pain from third degree burns would at least drive it away temporarily.

No such luck. The creature's milky white skin seemed to be completely fire proof.

Again the large hand mad a sweep for him.

Kai had no other choice than to jump over it and dodge the six gigantic claws, each of which was larger than himself.

_Flashback end_

"Anything can be fought! If we work as a team we!" Piper was cut off by Kai.

"If we work together the only thing that will happen is we will die together! Now do as I told you and get out of here now! That thing is going to come after me, Shadow and Marina, and it will not stop until it either kills us, or is unable to move. I don't know about you guys, but I would much prefer the second option. But I can't do that until you get out of here!" Kai shouted as he ran away from the others and begun firing at the creature.

"Hey ugly! I'm over here! Come and get me!"

Starling was torn between following the order, and helping her friend.

Her decision was made for her in the form of a large clawed hand that reached in and tried to stab them through.

"Jump!" Starling shouted as she did.

The others turned back for only a second, but did as they had been told. Each following suite and jumping down the hole that had once been a stairway.

Kai, at seeing that the girls were gone, dropped his façade of confidence and hoped that the girls would make it out alive. At least then there was some chance of the mission being completed.

_**SCCRRRREEEEEEEE**_

Kai turned from the shaft and faced the creature.

It had stopped moving and seemed to be studying him. Kai felt a cold chill travel down his spine.

He could only see a tiny part of it, but that was all he needed to see. He knew what the rest looked like; it had been burned into his mind clearly.

"Virage." Kai said coolly as he watched the creature's six shining green eyes study him. They were arranged in a circular pattern around its jagged beak like mouth, with three on each side. They had no pupils, so it was hard to tell exactly where they were looking, but Kai could feel the creatures gaze settle on him.

Then he felt it.

The hate, the pain, the sheer rage that the beast had was directed solely at him. What seemed to be a thousand years worth of pent up rage was released, nearly choking Kai with its intensity.

"_I had forgotten about that. How do they do that? Not even Rose's killing intent is that strong, and she's a Dragon!"_

It was true; somehow the massive creature was able to direct its emotions to those in the immediate area. Both times these emotions had been the same.

Anger, rage, hate. It didn't make sense for an animal to have emotions like these, especially with such intensity.

Kai watched as the creature opened its vertical jaw and released another ear shattering screech.

Starling watched as the ground became more and more defined, and pulled the rip cord on her flight suit. Sure enough the parachute deployed and she felt her decent slow dramatically, and ss soon as she was about ten feet from the floor she released her chute, dropping to the ground and rolling out of it to prevent any serious damage from coming to her. Looking back up she saw the others were following suit, they were just a little behind her.

"Starling! What are we supposed to do?!" Tigger shouted as she landed and quickly got out of her parachute.

"We get to the ship like Kai told us to. He must have a plan of some sort." She said with little in the way of enthusiasm.

Marina grabbed the woman by the shoulder and gave her a firm shake.

"Kai has a plan; didn't you say that he never takes risks?" Marina asked.

"Yes but." Starling was cut off.

"And didn't you say that you wanted to help him?" Rondana asked, dusting herself off.

"Yes, but I still think that." Once again she was cut off, this time by Piper.

"Then help him by doing what he asked! I've only seen Kai go full out once, but I know that he's going to be holding back until he's sure that he won't hurt us by accident."

Starling's eyes widened.

"_Of course! That's why he wanted us to get out. This place isn't exactly an open field, and Kai's powers aren't always stable. He would want to be sure that we were out of harm's way before he uses Rose."_ Without a word Starling quickly turned to the exit and made a mad dash, hoping that those few seconds of hesitance wouldn't come back to bite her in the end.

The others followed and ran for the exit, all hoping for the best, not even allowing the other possibilities to run in their minds. They had to believe that Kai knew what he was doing, that he would win.

Once they reached outside, despite being away from the creature, they found that they were still far from being safe.

"Piper! Look out!" Shadow shouted as she shoved the bluenette forward with a shoulder tackle.

The very spot that Piper had just been seconds before was now occupied by a metal beam that would have sliced her in two.

"Where did that come from?" Rondana asked before looking up. "INCOMING!" She shouted before rolling to the side.

The others looked up and gaped as chunks of metal the size of boulders came plummeting towards them.

It was difficult, but they managed to duck and dodge the chunks until they got far enough away that they were (relatively) safe.

That's when they got their first real look at _it_.

The creature was hanging onto the side of the Ancient port, with one arm driven deep into it, along with both of its feet.

The creature was massive, standing at well over six stories height, and it vaguely resembled a human.

Vaguely

Two feet, two legs, a torso, two arms, two hands, and a head. But that was where the similarities ended.

Nothing about the body was normal. Its torso was incredibly skinny and twice as long as what would be 'normal' for a human of such size. Its legs were three times thicker than normal, and were reverse jointed. Though it's arms were about average, the hands were at least four times normal size. They also noticed when it pulled back its hand to thrust into the building, that it had six fingers, each with a claw the same length as its hand. But by far the strangest thing about the creature was its head.

The rest of the creatures extremities had been exaggerated, but the head was by far the most so. From the top of the creatures head down to its neck was the same distance as from its feet to its hips. The only other distinguishing feature that the creature had were the two long tendrils that ran from the top of its head to its feet, one on each side.

"What the heck is that thing? I've never seen anything like in any book or scroll." Piper said as she snapped a few shots of it with a Kodiak crystal for future study.

Tigger was about to say something when she noticed her friend shaking like a leaf.

"Shadow? Shadow what's wrong? Did you get hit or something?" She asked dropping back to her friend's side.

Shadow looked up with glassy eyes that seemed to be staring at something far away, yet at the same time very close. "It's in pain. Whatever that thing is, it's in so much pain that it's been driven insane." She answered quietly.

"How do you know it's in pain?" Rondana asked, both curious and confused.

It was then that she noticed the Griffen Stone hanging from Shadow's neck. She had seen it a few times, but she had never seen it glow before. It had a cold, almost icy blue aura radiating from it.

"I can hear it. I heard it back when we were in the tower, and I can hear it now." She said trying to regain her composure.

_SSSCCCCCRRRREEE_

Piper looked back at Shadow and saw her shudder when the creature screeched.

"Wait a minute, you mean those screeches are it screaming in pain?" She asked.

Shadow nodded her head_ yes_

"Why is it hurting? It looks fine to me, well, aside from being butt ugly." Tigger said studying the creature again for any obvious signs of damage.

"Maybe it's….grumpy? I mean, we did kinda wake it from a thousand year long nap. Junko get's pretty miffed when we wake him up." Piper offered.

Shadow shook her head. "No, it's not miffed; believe me, whatever that thing is, its royally POed, and in extreme pain."

"Whatever the case, we need to get to the ship and signal Kai that we are safe." Starling spoke up for the first time since they exited the building.

"I'm on it now." Marina said as she pulled a flare from her pack and fired it into the air.

"_I don't know how much longer I'm going to last dodging this thing. I feel like a mouse with its tail caught in a trap trying to dodge some nutcase with a steak knife."_ Kai thought as he jumped to the side, dodging the creatures attempt at impaling him for the third time.

_**SSSCCCCRRRREEEEEE**_

"Yeah! Well same to you!" Kai shouted firing several blasts of ice at the creatures face, trying to cover its eyes so he would have a better chance.

The mouth opened again, but this time instead of screeching, it spat.

"Aw man, not this one too!" Kai shouted jumping to the other side, trying his best to evade the green slim.

The mass shot over him and landed on the floor and wall behind him. Kai didn't bother looking; he knew what he would see. The hissing sound only reinforced this point.

"_Great, just bloody great. This missions just started, and on the first day what am I doing? Fighting a giant lab rat that has steak knives for fingers and spits acid lugies."_

Kai happened to look past the creature, and let out a breath of relief upon seeing the flare.

"_Good, their safe. Time to put this thing back to bed."_

"What do you think Kai will do?" Piper asked as the group reached the ship.

Starling rushed to the cockpit, ignoring the others and nearly ripping the doors off their hinges as she went.

"I don't know, I just hope it works." Tigger said following the path of destruction to the front of the ship, where she hoped to find the cockpit still intact.

"Woah! Piper! Piper! Check it out! It's Kai! He's fighting back!" Shadow shouted from the gangplank.

Piper turned and was shocked at what she saw.

A massive column of dark energy exploded from the top of the building. At first Piper thought that Kai had activated the charges, but she saw two things that went against that notion.

The first was that the building was still standing.

And second, the creature was still hanging on the outside of the building, but the hand that it had brought back to stab at what she assumed to be Kai was being held back by a large black and purple clawed hand of energy.

A Dragon's hand.

She then watched as a long, black tail shot out from the back side of the building and wound itself around it several times. The last thing she saw was two large black wings spread open, each of which was the same size as the creature.

This was all followed by a roar the nearly made her fall to her knees in fright.

Piper thought the situation was ironic, considering that she had been reading some of the works of Nietzsche just that morning. _"How did that saying go? He who fights monsters should take care not to become one in the process."_ Piper shook her head at the sight.

"_I hope this works."_ Kai glared up at the creature and roared. "Here goes everything! Shadow's **Embrace!"**

Kai felt the cold shock flow through his system, but it was far stronger than last time. He had noticed that the last few times he used the Shadow crystal; the current had been getting stronger. He mentally saw himself losing his footing, slip, and watched as the water then washed over him, overwhelming him completely.

"_What's going on?!"_ Kai began to panic as he felt himself losing control of the energy buildup, it started as a slow slipping, then it was like someone had just let go of his hand over a cliff.

_Ching_

"_Wah! What was that?!"_ Kai was really starting to panic now. He heard what sounded like a chain being pulled taunt, and at the same time could have sworn that he felt something around his chest tighten. Whatever it was, it was getting tighter, but he could feel that he was no longer being washed downstream. He was somehow being anchored in his mental river of power.

It took a few seconds, but he realized that he was back in control, mostly. The power was still overwhelming him, but there was no longer any danger of him being washed away.

Opening his eyes, Kai roared and threw out his arm to stop the oncoming attack.

Piper nearly fell out of the ship as it began to take off. She flipped the toggle to close the main hatch so that there was no danger of anybody falling out of the ship midflight before running to the cockpit.

Marina, Shadow and Rondana quickly followed her to the front so they continue to watch the fight.

**SSSCCRREEEEEEEEE**

**ROOOUUGHHHHH**

Kai threw out his other arm, creating another fist of energy, this time grabbing the Virage's head.

With an almost insane grin spreading across his face, Kai laughed as the creature screeched out in both surprise and pain.

"**How does it feel to be on the other end of the whoping stick huh?! Not so fun is it?!"** Kai mentally tightened the hold his tail had on the building, while at the same time spreading open his wings to their fullest, and back behind him.

**SSSSCCRRRRREE**

Kai shook his head. **"I don't know if I can destroy you or not, but I'm going to see just how close I can get!"**

Letting loose another roar, Kai flapped his wings with all his might, while at the same time pulling back with his tail.

"What on Atmos is he doing?!" Tigger shouted as she watched the fight from the copilot seat.

She was about to ask Starling what she thought when the ship learched to the side.

"Starling? What's going?" Her eyes widened in fright. "Rondana! We need a medic, now!" She shouted.

Starling had let go of the controls and was clutching her sides, obviously in great pain.

"What?" Rondana looked to the rooms only other occupant. As soon as she saw what was going on, she went into 'medic mode' and yanked her from the pilot seat to the hall behind the cabin.

"I'll handle things up here, you just figure out what is wrong with Starling!" Tigger shouted as she jumped into the pilot's seat and grabbed the controls. _"Good thing I watched Kai fly this thing yesterday, otherwise we'd be a smoldering crater by now."_

"Starling? Starling? Can you hear me?" Rondana gently shook the Sky Knight, trying to get her attention.

"I fell like something's trying to tear me from the inside out." The older woman said between pain induced gasps.

"What? Starling, you've got to be more specific if I'm going to have any chance at figuring out what's wrong. Is the pain coming from your stomach? Is it higher? Where?"

Starling barely opened her half glazed eyes and glared at the teen. "I've broken ribs, had my appendix rupture and had a lung collapse. Trust me, if it was any particular organ, I would know." She hissed. Closing her eyes, she groaned in pain. "It's like something reached inside of me and is trying to rip out my insides." She said between breaths.

Back in the cockpit, Tigger and the others watched in awe as the creature was pulled up, and inside of what was left of the buildings top floor.

"What is Kai doing?" Shadow asked out loud.

"I think Kai's trying to pull the creature inside of the Phoenix Den." Marina said, recognizing the move to be a variation of one of Naboroou's favorite wrestling techniques.

The keel hauler.

Kai roared as he pulled with all his might, tearing the Virage's grip loose from the building, while at the same time turning to his side, throwing it down into the hole that had been a stairway.

"**And stay down!"** Ka shouted.

**SSSSCCCRREEEEEEE**

Kai shook his head and grinned as he pulled back both of his hands.** "I've always wanted to see what I could do going full out. Let's see what happens when!"** Kai's eyes widened.

He felt his power suddenly began to fade at an accelerated rate, far faster than it even had before. At the same time, he felt the usual pain and ache spread throughout his body that came with using the Shadow crystal.

And something else.

He didn't know what it was, but he felt panic spread through him, panic and an almost paralyzing fear.

"**Wh**a**t **i**s **hap**pen**ing?" Kai knew that he didn't have much time left, so using the last few seconds of consciousness he had left, he pulled out the red crystal from earlier, and a second red crystal from the pocket on his other leg.

"Mission complete." He said bringing the two crystal together as hard as he could.

_Spark_

**BOOOOOOOOOOOMM**

Tigger fought to maintain control over the ship as it was bounced and tossed around by the explosions shockwave. Piper, who was also in the cockpit, was tossed around like a rag doll, having forgotten her safety harness. Marina grabbed onto an overhead pipe with one arm and grabbed Shadow with the other, holding her close so that she wouldn't slam into a wall. Rondana leaned back into the wall she was beside and pulled Starling up as best she could. The Sky Knight had just enough mind left to grab onto a nearby pipe for support.

"What was that?" Tigger shouted from the cabin, once the shockwaves came to a stop.

"Ugghh. I think Kai set off the charges." Piper said, crawling up from under the consol with one hand on her head.

"What kind of charges where those? Apocalypse crystals?! " Marina shouted, stumbling into the cabin.

"Thermal induction implosion crystals, I think." Piper said rubbing the growing bump on her head.

"What?" Marina asked, never having heard of such a thing before.

"Thermal induction implosion crystals. They superheat the air around them, causing metal to rapidly expand while at the same time lose all of its tensile strength before exploding." Piper explained.

"Uh, in English please?" Shadow asked, sticking her head in through the door.

"Ugh, they make metal buildings partially melt and collapse in on themselves before forcing it downwards with a high powered shockwave. They were made to take out fortresses during the Great War by flattening them or melting them down to a pile of molten slag. Not only destroying them, but making them impossible to repair or rebuild."

"I guess Kai really is serious about making sure Lark doesn't find anything huh?" Shadow said, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Everyone suddenly looked up.

"KAI!"

"He was on the top floor when it went off, he must have been blown clear of the area!" Tigger shouted looking around for the team leader.

"You don't think he…he..." Piper bit her lip, not wanting to finish the statement.

_THUNK_

"WHAT IN DIN'S NAME IS THAT?!" Marina shouted pointing at a…lump? That had landed on the front of the ship.

Tigger leaned forward and noticed the lump starting to move, turn over, and look up, before it fell back down.

"It's Kai!" Tigger shouted in realization.

"What? We have to get him down before he falls off!" Piper shouted.

"Already on it!" Marina's voice called out over the ships intercom.

Marina hopped onto her skimmer and opened the hanger doors. Revving the engine several times, she shot out of the hanger and dropped like a stone.

Waiting for several seconds, she then deployed the wings and rose back up, having used gravity to speed her up. Pulling the craft up, she quickly flew up to the front of the freighter and found the still smoldering pile that was Kai.

"Boy, you sure know how to make an entrance." Marina said shaking her head.

Being careful not to drop him, Marina hoisted him over her Skimmer and held onto him as she flew around to the back of the freighter, not noticing the large red and blue bird flying just a few feet above her.

_Squawk_

Darkness

No matter where he looked, all Kai could see was darkness. Everything was black, but suddenly, he saw a bright light and heard his name being called.

"Kai?"

"Kai?"

"Wha…who…is…"

"KAI!"

Kai bolted up and looked around. To his side he saw a very worried Rondana looking down at him.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

Kai chuckled. "Yeah, I think so. You scared the daylights out of me though with the whole light and calling out my name thing." Kai said still chuckling.

He then saw Rondana's face shift from worried, to slightly happy, then shift to angry.

_SLAP_

"Just what in the unholy name of Oblivion did you think you were doing?!" She shouted.

"I was." Rondana cut him off.

"I don't know what your excuse is, but it had better be a good one!"

"I told you, I was." Again, Kai was cut off.

_SLAP_

"Well? Out with it!" Rondana shouted.

Kai narrowed his eyes. "I would if you would just."

Again the hand came, but this time he caught it.

"Listen to me for a moment and STOP SLAPPING ME!" Kai shouted before wincing in pain and falling back onto his back.

"Well, at least now I know what was messing you up so bad. That crystal of yours is more trouble than it's worth." Rondana said yanking her hand free.

"Hey, I'm still alive and breathing aren't I?" Kai said defensively.

"Don't make me slap you again." Rondana said narrowing her eyes at him. "You didn't intend on making it out of there did you?" It wasn't a question; it was more of a statement.

"Actually, I did, but something…came up. My original plan didn't….work out the way I planned it to, and I had to go with what I had." Kai said studying his surroundings.

"Where am I anyway?" Kai asked, not recognizing where he was.

"You're where you belong for pulling a stunt like that."

Kai looked to the other side and saw Marina with her arms crossed.

"What?"

"You heard me, you're where you belong." Marina repeated.

"Marina, I told you that there was no other place to put him. He's not being punished, yet." She said the last part under her breath.

Kai then realized that he was in the quarters, more specify on the floor.

"Why am I on the floor?" Kai asked, starting to feel more than just a little nervous.

"Kai…you broke a couple of ribs, and we needed to put you someplace where you wouldn't move around a lot. We couldn't exactly put you in the cockpit, and most of the medical supplies are in here, so we did the best we could." Rondana said shrugging her shoulders.

"The best you could do was the floor?" Kai asked raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, I could have left you on the front of the ship as a hood ornament, but Tigger kept complaining about how you were blocking her view." Marina said with a small grin.

"Ha ha." Kai laughed sarcastically before trying to get up, only to be pushed back down.

"Where do you think your going?" Rondana asked.

"Up, why does it matter?" Kai asked dully.

"I just told you that you snapped a couple of ribs, you have to take it easy." Rondana said sternly.

"I'm fine, see OW!" Kai cringed before falling back onto his back.

"See, now you went and shifted your ribs again you lunk head." Rondana said shaking her head.

Kai sat back, and cringed as Marina helped force his ribs back into place. He noticed that the ship was awful quiet, but at the same time could hear the engines running.

"Where are we going?" Kai asked, once his bindings were rewrapped.

"Piper said that she figured out where the next location in the log book was yesterday, so we're heading towards it as fast as we can." Marina answered.

"Yesterday? I've been out a whole day?" Kai asked, surprised.

"Actually, you've been out cold for three days straight, both you and Starling." Rondana said, motioning to the nearby bunk bed.

Kai craned his neck as far as it could go, but could only make out a purple ponytail hanging off the side of the bed.

"What happened?" Kai asked trying to get up.

Rondana had anticipated this and already had her hand above him, keeping him from moving. "I honestly don't know. She was fine one minute, the next she was doubled over in pain. She passed out a minute or so after you set off the charges." Rondana answered, slightly worried.

"What do you mean you don't know? You're a doctor aren't you?" Kai growled.

Rondana shot him a look that said _don't push it_, before answering. "She has no visible injuries, and as far as I can tell nothing is physically wrong with her. Beyond that, I don't know." Rondana replied.

"If nothing was wrong with her she wouldn't have passed out!" Kai shouted.

He was about to continue when a sharp pain filled his chest. Looking down he saw its source.

A black leather boot.

"Now you see here. Rondana's been working her royal butt off trying to figure out what's wrong with your friend, AND put you back together, AGAIN. You can talk down to here when and ONLY when you actually have a soap box to stand on. Right now you should be kissing the ground she walks on, not berating her. Kapesh?" Marina then added a little weight to her leg, causing Kai to winch slightly.

"Kapesh." Kai said between gritted teeth.

"Marina, that's enough. I don't want to have to set his ribs again." Rondana chided.

Marina gave one last slight push before removing her foot and walked to the exit. "If he tries to pull that mess again, let me know. I'll straighten him out." Marina said walking out.

Rondana was about to leave when she heard Kai speak up.

"Could you….could you help me for a second?" He asked, looking the other way.

"Hm? Kai, I know you're not happy with being on the floor and all, but it really was the best we could do." Rondana was surprised to see Kai shake his head.

"No, not that, could you help me up for a second." He asked turning to face her.

"Kai, ribs take at least a week to set, you of all people should know that by now." Rondana said with a slight grin.

"Please, I…I just want to…make sure Star's alright." Kai said craning his neck back towards her.

"I'm sorry Kai, but you need to stay still for at least another two days. By then she will hopefully be up and around again, and if not you'll be able to see her, ok?"

"Please, just for a second." Kai said, still looking towards his friend.

Rondana thought it over for a second before an idea came to her.

"Hold on for just a minute, ok?" She said, quickly leaving the room.

Though not happy, Kai trusted that the medic hadn't simply said that as an excuse to leave the room.

A few minutes later she came back in with a beauty mirror and stepped between Kai and Starling. Kneeling down, she then held the mirror in front of her at an angle. "Here, is this ok?" She asked.

Kai was about to thank her, but the words died on his tongue.

Something was _definitely_ wrong with his friend.

He couldn't see much since it was only a head sized mirror, but what he did see was enough to worry him.

Starling was asleep, and though her face looked peaceful, he couldn't help but notice how pale she was.

"_Star's always been a little on the fair side, but she's never been that pale before. What on Atmos is wrong with her?"_

Kai shook his head, returning from his thoughts to reality. "Thank you Rondana, I'm….sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"Your right. You shouldn't have." She said sternly, but then her face softened. "But I think I can understand why you did. It's normal to be worried about your friends." She then laughed softly. "You should have seen the Storm Hawks when they first brought Piper in. I thought for sure that I was going to have to call the police."

Kai could see the scene play out in his mind. Junko shaking poor Jim by his collar, and Aerrow shouting at the top of his lungs waving his daggers. He laughed, but that only induced more pain, causing him to cease laughing.

"Now, you get some rest. If you're hungry I could bring you something to eat." Rondana offered, slowly getting up.

Kai shook his head. "I'm fine, if I need anything, I'll let you know." Kai said staring up at the ceiling.

Rondana then left the room, leaving Kai alone, with only his unconscious friend, and his thoughts to keep him company.

"_Man I'm bored."_ Kai thought as he glared at the ceiling.

End Chapter 3

Uh oh, looks like Kai's down for the count, and the journey has just begun. Now, like I said, this chapter was extremely Sueish, but I had to come up with a plausible reason for Kai to be out of commission for a while and this was the best I could come up with. I don't want Kai to be the main character with the others playing second fiddle, this story is about how people change, key word PEOPLE not a person. Also, I know Kai seemed a bit….overpowered in the fight, but you'll have to take my word on this, that was far beyond his normal capabilities. You'll have to keep reading to find out how it was possible. So, until then, please review! They help me keep writing!

Be on the look out for chapter 4: Forty Eight Hours of Horror and Humor! Part I

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	4. Forty Eight Hours of Horror and Humor PI

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 4: Forty Eight Hours of Horror and Humor! Part I

AN: Ok, honestly I meant for this chapter to be a bit more light hearted, but my muse took a turn when I got to the last few pages. Not that it's dark or gloomy, just not exactly what I had in mind to begin with. There is plenty of humor though, but there are some serious moments as well. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, and this story.

Shadow and Griffy are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to ExNarrator01

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made by and owned by MissDedodakes

"_Two more days? I'm stuck on the floor like this for two more days? Man this bites! What am I supposed to do for two days?"_ Kai mentally groaned. "This is what I get for blowing up Ancient temples, shrines, and alters." Kai said to himself as he hit the back of his head on the floor.

"Ok, if we keep heading west, we should reach the next port in about four days. We just have to keep an eye on the trade winds in case they shift." Piper said looking up from her notes.

"So what's the next stop? Vampires Lair? Werewolf's Soup Bone?" Shadow was about to continue when Piper spoke up.

"Actually, it's called Rocky Falls."

"You mean like, waterfalls falls, or like, drops like a stone falls?" Marina asked, now interested.

"Not really sure, but there are a few mentions of fish, so I think it's the first one." Piper said as she double checked her notes.

"Sweet! Kai took on the creepy, fiery, molten Phoenix Den, and while he's recuperating, we take care of the sunny, lively, and peaceful Rocky Falls!" Shadow said grinning.

"Now Shadow, Kai did his best to protect us from that…thing. The least we can do in return is complete this dangerous mission that just so happens to be in the middle of a hidden paradise." Tigger said trying her best to keep a straight face, but failing miserably.

"Uh, speaking of Kai. Shouldn't we like, I don't know, do something about him? He's got to be bored out of his mind by now." Shadow said tapping her chin.

"_One hundred and thirty six thousand bottles of soda on the wall, one hundred and thirty six thousand bottles of soda! You take one down pass it around, one hundred and thirty five thousand nine hundred and ninety nine bottles of soda on the wall!_ _One hundred and thirty five thousand nine hundred and ninety nine bottles of soda on the wall,"_

"I guess your right. Someone needs to keep an eye on him, Starling too. I'm still worried about her. Even though he was rude about it, Kai did have a point. It's not normal for a healthy person to just suddenly drop like that." Rondana said, suddenly drawing everyone's attention to her.

"But you said that nothing was wrong with her. You spent most of yesterday checking on her and you told us that you couldn't find anything wrong." Shadow said from her seat.

"I said that there was nothing wrong with her _physically_ and even that's not a guarantee. This ship's a far cry from any hospital or clinic."

"Is she doing any better? Any better at all?" Piper asked, still worried about her idol.

Rondana nodded her head. "While I still don't know exactly what the problem was, her condition is stable, and she has shown some improvement. Her skins at least got some color to it now, and she's no longer showing any signs of serious pain. It would help if she woke up, even if only for a few minutes to eat something though. She needs to eat soon or her body will start strip-mining itself to survive." Rondana said biting her thumb nail.

"As long as she's not getting any worse. I've never seen her like that before." Piper said shuddering.

That was one detail that Rondana and Marina had glossed over with Kai. Technically, he had asked if Starling was ok, not how she had been doing.

"_Thank the Aurora Stone for loop holes."_ Rondana thought shaking her head.

"So, who's going to babysit?" Marina asked with a bored expression. "Oh, and Not it." She added raising her hand.

"Not it!" Shadow shouted, raising hers.

"Not it!" Tigger and Rondana shouted in unison, throwing up on hand each.

Piper gaped. "I can't believe you guys! I've got to be up here, how else will we find the place?" Piper asked huffily.

Marina grabbed her notebook and held it in front of her. "Uh, with this? You're not the only qualified navigator on this tub, you just happen to be the best."

"Say hi to Kai for me!" Tigger said with a false smile as she waved.

"Doohhhh, I'll give you a hello." Piper muttered under her breath as she got up and left the ultra super comfy copilot seat that Marina quickly filled with a cat like grin on her face.

"I'll keep your seat warm for ya!" Marina shouted.

Piper said nothing, she just continued marching to the quarters where her unconscious friend, and immobile friend were located.

"From the Phoenix Den to the Dragon's Den. I hope Kai's in a good mood." Piper said shaking her head as she opened the door.

"You do know that I can hear you guys up in the cockpit right?" Kai asked as soon as she entered.

"_So much for him being in a good mood."_ Piper thought.

"And just how can you do that?" She asked skeptically.

Kai motioned with his head to an air vent behind him.

"Wait a minute; you've been eavesdropping on us?" Piper shouted.

"Pth, why would I want to listen in on girl talk? It makes no sense, and what I can actually understand usually scares me." Kai said returning his eyes to the ceiling.

Piper ignored the last remark and walked over to her bed and sat down.

"Why are you here?" Kai asked after a few minutes of silence.

"To keep an eye on you and Starling." She said kicking her legs back and forth.

"Why? You don't trust me?" Kai asked either board or slightly offended, Piper couldn't tell which.

"Not exactly. I'm just here in case one of you needs something." She replied dully.

Kai narrowed his eyes. "Gee, sorry for being such a bother."

"I didn't say you were a bother." Piper said falling back onto her bed.

"Well you sure seem to be implying it." Kai muttered.

"Look I'm sorry ok. The last three days have been hard enough; I don't need you adding anything to it alright?" Piper nearly shouted as she stared at the bunk above her.

After that was a few minutes of silence, which were broken by Kai.

"Sorry. I'm just not very good with the whole helpless thing." Kai said. _"Not to mention my backside is cold, my chest is killing me, I'm bored out of my mind, AND MY NOSE ITCHES LIKE CRAZY!"_

"Yeah, I guess I can understand that. A while back Aerrow had a little….accident. He was ok in the end, but he had to sit still for five days straight. I don't know who was closer to snapping in the end, him or us." Piper said shaking her head.

Kai chuckled. "The Sky Prince on his butt for five days? Yeah right."

Piper sat up with a small grin on her face. "It's true. Though it was his back, not his butt he was on for five days."

Kai was silent for a moment before speaking. "What happened? Got nailed by Snipe or something?"

Piper sweat dropped. "Closer to the something half." She answered, not wanting to say that her Captain had tripped on a puddle of oil and had fallen into one of the Condor's engines.

Again Kai chuckled. "Let me guess, you were about ready to rip out your hair weren't you?" Kai asked.

Thinking back to the experience, Piper giggled. "Pretty much. How did you know?"

Kai stopped laughing at this before responding. "Uh, you don't want to know." He answered.

Piper narrowed her eyes. "Why is it every time somebody asks you something, you always respond with, you don't want to know, I'll tell you later, or another time?" She asked.

"So I don't have to answer the question, duh." Kai replied like it was the most basic thing in the universe.

"Well you're not getting out of this one." Piper said getting up and walking over to the immobile teen.

"Oh, and why is that?" Kai asked with a small grin.

"Because if you don't, I'll tell the others about these." Piper said with a Suzi sized grin as she gave the bangles on his wrist a tug.

"They already know about them." Kai replied as flatly as he could.

"Really? Do they know _everything_ about them?" Piper's grin grew.

Both glared at each other for several seconds before Kai flinched and looked away.

Inside her mind, a chibi Piper was doing a victory dance. _"Booya! Piper 1 Kai 0!"_

"Fine, what do you want?" He asked sourly.

"Ohhh so very many things." Piper said sitting down with crossed legs. "But first, answer my question from earlier." Piper ordered.

Kai sighed. "Fine, just promise that you won't attack me ok?"

Piper was puzzled by the request, but agreed not to attack the teen, now even more curious than before.

"I knew because I know enough about you. You're not exactly caretaker material." Kai answered bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Piper's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kai turned his neck so he was now facing the younger teen. "Exactly what it sounded like. You have the desire to help and take care of people, but lack the mentality to do so. You're impatient, have a short fuse, are easily offended and over react whenever you make a mistake." As he spoke, Kai could see Piper's face turn various shades of red, so he quickly continued.

"I'm not saying you're flawed, that's just the way you are. Not everyone is a good caretaker. In fact, out of your entire crew, the only good one ya'll have is Junko." Kai pointed out.

"How you figure that?" Piper asked, having regained a measure of control.

"Well, Aerrow's got a good heart, same as you, but he also overreacts when it comes to his friends. I bet when one of you gets hurt he spends the entire time in the medbay blaming himself." Kai answered.

"_Actually, you're pretty close."_ Piper thought. Seeing that Kai had stopped, she motioned for him to continue.

"I'm not even going to bother with Finn." Kai paused as Piper giggled slightly before continuing. "And Shadow just tries to hard to help people, in the end, probably hurting them even more."

"_Dead center there too. Although it was pretty funny when she tried to make Stork my Sand Cakes last time he was sick."_

"Stork is too much like a mother hen, and would keep you from flying for having a splinter removed, which is probably why he keeps himself busy most of the time." Kai continued.

Piper merely nodded in agreement.

"All that leaves is Junko. He's got a good heart like the rest of you, the patience to be Finn's best friend, and from what I recall of my little visit last year, is a big old softy. Am I right?" Kai asked the now smiling bluenette.

"On the money." Piper said shaking her head. "But do you really think I'm that bad of a caretaker?" She asked, still upset by his early comment.

"Like I said, not bad per say, just not the best. You need to calm down a bit and not be so jittery all the time. It's like you've got a permanent sugar high." Kai added.

"Hey! I'm not that hyper." Piper shot back pouting.

"Piper, I saw you running laps through my base. Trust me, you're hyper. But, that's not always a bad thing."

"Wait a minute, your trying to change the subject!" Piper realized and pointed an accusing finger at Kai.

"_Busted"_

Kai looked the other way. "Fine, what else do you want to know?" He asked feeling a sudden sense of dread fill his stomach.

Piper thought it over for a minute. Here was a once in a lifetime opportunity to pick at Kai's brain. Something she had dreamt of doing ever since the Cabion incident. It was almost like having an Oracle crystal of her own, but now that she had it, she didn't know what to do with it.

"_Ok Piper, you've got to play this one smart. If I spook him, I'll never get another chance like this, I can't mess it up."_

Running down the vast list of questions she had, she decided to start with something that wouldn't be too invasive, and at the same time not seem suspicious.

"What was that….thing…you fought back at the Phoenix Den? I took a few snapshots of it and double checked the books I brought with me, there's nothing even close to it ever being mentioned, not even in legends or myths. What was it, and how did you know what it was?" Piper asked.

"Those are two very different questions, which do you want to know?" Kai asked closing his eyes.

"_Why can't he just answer both? It's not like he's going anywhere anytime soon. Unless….he doesn't want to answer one of them, but has no problem with the other. Question is, which one is he nervous about?"_ Piper thought it over before answering.

"I want to know what it was." She replied. Seeing Kai sigh, she knew that she had picked the one he _didn't _want to answer, which confused her.

"It's called a Virage." He began only to be cut off.

"Wait a minute, it's called a? Not that was the? You mean there could be more of those things?" Piper asked in shock.

"Not could be, are. I ran into one a while back….it didn't end well either." Kai said turning to face the wall.

"Hey, you haven't finished answering my question." Piper growled.

Kai was silent for a few seconds, but he then continued.

"Look, I can tell you a bit about them, but trust me on this, you do NOT want to know WHAT they are. I wish I didn't know, and if there was a way I could forget, I WOULD."

Piper was taken back by how firm Kai's tone was. She couldn't help but notice the tiny twinge that was in his voice as well. He wasn't simply trying to dodge the question this time, he was sincere about wishing that he didn't know what he did, and that frightened her.

"Ok…just…tell me what you want to about them then." Piper said suddenly finding it hard to speak.

Kai shook his head, but spoke. "Like I said, they're called Virage, and they were a…solution of sorts that the Ancients came up with." Seeing that he had Piper's attention, he asked a question that surprised her.

"Tell me, what do you know about Dragons?" He asked pointedly.

"_What does this have to do with Dragons?"_ She didn't see the harm in his question, and it wouldn't be fair not to answer since he had been, even if it was like trying to pull teeth, for her.

"I know that they were nearly wiped out after the first flight vehicles were built. Man feared them so they hunted them to the point of extinction." She said shrugging her shoulders.

"That's not entirely true, but close enough." Kai replied.

Piper's eyes widened. "How did you know about Rinjiin?" She asked nearly falling over.

"Who?" Kai asked blankly.

"Rinjiin! He's the last Dragon Knight, we found him at the Sky's Edge with a clutch, how did you know there were still some Dragon's left?" Piper asked, still slightly surprised that Kai would know about something that known only to the Storm Hawks and the Sky Knights, something that had been sworn to secrecy.

"The last Dragon Knight? Piper, Dragoon's are not something to joke about, that's like joking about the original Storm Hawks." Kai said in a warning tone.

"_What on Atmos? Did his eyes just turn grey?"_ Though she couldn't be sure, she could have sworn that for just a moment, Kai's amber colored eyes had flashed grey.

"I'm serious Kai, how did you know about Rinjiin's clutch? The Sky Knights swore not to tell anyone outside of their squadrons about them, how did you know?"

"_Rinjiin's clutch? Sky Knights? What the blazes is she talking about?"_

"Piper, I need to know exactly what you are talking about. Sworn oath or not, this could be serious." Kai said staring her directly in the eye.

"_What's up with him? How could he not know about Rinjiin, but know that Dragon's aren't extinct? Whatever the case, I can't break my oath."_ Shaking her head, Piper spoke. "I'm sorry Kai, but I can't tell you that. I gave my word just like the others. I shouldn't have said what I did; you'll just have to forget about it."

Kai sighed and closed his eyes. It seemed like an eternity of silence had settled in. Just when Piper thought she was going to spend the next few hours in complete silence, Kai spoke.

"I'll make a deal with you. Everything for what you know concerning this…Rinjiin character." Kai said turning to face her again.

"Kai, I'm sorry, but I can't. My word is not up for sale, bargain or trade." Piper said shaking her head.

"Are you sure? I'm not offering just a little tidbit here, I'm offering unlimited, unrestricted access to all that I know, hold or have access to." Seeing that Piper wasn't going to budge, he started playing his cards.

"Piper, from what little you told me, I'm pretty sure that I know why my bounty was renewed, and why the Council no longer had any use for Starling. Please, I need this information."

Piper bit her lip. "What makes you so sure that this has anything to do with you or Starling?" Piper asked, still not willing to just go and break her oath, even with the offer being given.

Now it was Kai's turn to shake his head. "Piper, I can't give that information out without your word that you will exchange with me. I don't want to make you break your word, but I need insurance first. If you agree, I'll tell you. For now, all I can say is that this Rinjiin person could be the reason that the Council is finally willing to get rid of me, and why they no longer need Starling."

Piper bit her lip again and lowered her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I just…I can't break my promise."

Kai narrowed his eyes.

"Fine then, just answer my questions and I'll still live up my end, that sound fair?" He asked exasperated. Though on the inside, he was smiling. _"I'll give her one thing; she's honest to the core. She'll make a grand Sky Knight one day."_

Piper thought it over for a second before answering. "I…I can't tell you anything."

"You won't have to, just answer yes or no, ok?" He saw that Piper was still unsure so he added one little bit. "I won't ask anything that would be considered breaking your oath ok?"

Piper nodded.

"Did you ever at any time come across any living Dragon's?"

_Nod_

"Did you contact _all_ of the Sky Knight's?"

_Nod_

Kai narrowed his eyes and clinched his fist. _"Blast you Harrier. Your code's going to get us all killed one of these days."_

Kai took a deep breath before looking over to Piper, seeing her expectant look; he had to fight not to smile. _"Oh well, a deal's a deal."_

"First off, whoever Rinjiin is, he's not the last Dragon Knight, he's _one_ of the last Dragon Knight's." Kai allowed himself a small smirk at seeing Piper's disbelieving look.

"Kai, I'm not telling you about it and that's final." She said crossing her arms.

Kai chuckled. "I'm not trying to get you to. I'm just telling you the truth." Kai closed his eyes for a second and returned to the river in his mind. It was still roaring, and he was still underwater. Thankfully, the anchor seemed to be holding. He didn't want to use the Shadow's Embrace, but he didn't really need to, he only needed a tiny bit this time.

Opening his eyes, Kai looked over to Piper and grinned.

"I know he's not the last Dragon Knight, because **I'm one as well."**

Piper jumped up halfway and fell flat on her butt. _"How did he do that? He sounded just like Lark and the Nightcrawlers!"_

Piper sat up and watched in amazement as a thin field of black, purple and dark red energy spread out and around Kai. At first it looked exactly like the ones used by the Sage's of terra Gerudo, but then, it changed.

Instead of it staying as a formless mass, it began to take a shape. The first thing she noticed was the chest forming into something that looked like armor, armor that then spread to Kai's arms and legs. Next was a tail that sprouted out from under him and lazily flowed out beside him. This was followed by the two bat like wings she had seen him use before.

Then, she saw it.

The energy flowed up his face and continued on for several feet until it became coiled and a single mass formed at the top, a mass that split open into a mouth.

"**Notice anything?"** Kai asked grinning.

Piper got up and walked a few feet away to get a better look at the energy field. _"It's not all that detailed, but…it does sort of resemble a Dragon."_

"How do I know it's not one of your illusions?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

Kai's grin seemed to widen even further at this point.

"Eeep!" Piper squealed when she suddenly found herself a few inches off the ground. Looking down, she saw that Kai had wrapped his 'tail' around her from behind and was using it like an arm.

_Groan_

Kai's head turned to where he knew Starling was and he let go of the tiny energy field he had been holding, dropping Piper on her rear with a squeak.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!"

"Piper, something's wrong with Star!" Kai shouted. He couldn't see her from where he was, but he could still hear and smell her. _Her breathing's becoming erratic, almost like she's drowning."_ The only other thing he was able to detect was the faint scent of salt, meaning that she was either crying or sweating.

Piper had gotten up from where she landed and was by the Sky Knights side in an instant. "Starling? Starling, can you hear me?" She was about to call for Rondana when she suddenly just stopped and returned to the way she had been moments before.

"What's wrong with her?" Kai asked, still worrying for his friend.

"I wish I knew. She's been out cold just as long as you have. Once or twice she started having problems, but aside from that she's been unconscious. Didn't Rondana or Marina tell you?" She asked, surprised that he hadn't known already.

"No, they just told me that she was out cold. Nothing else." Kai said, still slightly upset at this little detail having been slipped.

Piper used the bowl and rag that were by the small table to wash the sweat off of Starling's face before taking it to the bathroom to empty and refill.

"What exactly has been happening with her?" Kai asked trying to figure out what was wrong. He might not be a doctor, but he had read most medical books that were available. Not that he doubted in Rondana's abilities, he just wanted to see if he could come up with some ideas for her to think over.

"Pretty much what just happened now. She'll start breathing hard and sweating for a minute or so then stop. Though the first time was pretty bad, Rondana had to sedate her so she could go pack to sleep." Piper answered.

"Sedate her? Why would she have to do that?" Kai was trying to be analytical about this, but was having a hard time focusing on the numbers.

"Well…..she….she was in pain. I don't know how to describe it. Other than it was pretty bad." Piper said with a shudder. In all her years she had never seen anyone or anything in that much pain, not even Aerrow when he had his little 'accident' with the Condor's engine.

"What did Rondana give her?" Kai asked out of the blue.

"What?"

"I asked what did Rondana give her. You said that she sedated her, what did she use?" Kai's voice wasn't as worried and skeptical as it was expectant.

"I'm not really sure, it's still here, hang on a sec." Piper walked over to the med kit and retrieved the small metal case that she had seen Rondana use. Opening it, she pulled out one of the bottles and read the label.

"Morphine? No wonder she's been out three days."

Kai gaped.

"RONDANA! GET IN HERE! NOW!" Kai's voice echoed throughout the ships hull.

A few seconds passed before the young medic poked her head in through the door.

"You bellowed?" She asked teasingly. He face dropped when she was nearly shoved out of the way by Piper. "Hey! What's going on?!"

Looking back down at the floor she saw Kai wearing what was probably one of the most frightening scowls she had ever seen. And considering that she had been treating him for over a year, and had been working with Jim even longer, that was saying something.

"She went to get the 'special recipe' you gave me to fix your mistake!" Kai shouted. It probably would have been a lot easier to take him serious were he not flat on his back.

"Hey! I thought I told you to watch your mouth!" Marina quipped as she stepped out beside the stunned medic.

Kai turned to glare at the redhead. "I have my soap box this time Marina." Kai said without flinching.

The two were pushed out of the way by Piper carrying a bottle of water and a small plastic container.

"Piper, make sure you don't put in too much, just a cap full ok!" Kai shouted.

"What's going on here? Piper? What are you doing?" Rondana asked, still confused as to what was going on.

"She's giving Starling a boost to help speed up her metabolism." Kai stated.

"Why is she doing that? All that will do is burn out the sedative I gave her." Rondana was about to stop Piper when a serpentine tail of black energy snapped like a whip between the two girls.

"**Don't you dare!"** Before Kai could continue they heard Starling groaning in pain again.

"What on Atmos is wrong with her? What was it you gave her that would react that fast?" Marina asked confused.

The tail of energy dissipated, but Kai's voice still had a bit of its deep timbre.

"Star's allergic to Morphine! That dose you gave her earlier was almost enough to put her into a coma!" Kai shouted in anger.

It took a second for the words to register, but when they did, they hit like a brick wall.

"What?"

"Starling is allergic to Morphine. The reason she's been so messed up is that she was having an allergic reaction." Kai repeated, only this time a bit calmer.

"Allergic reacti oh dear. I, I didn't know!" Rondana ran over to the still unconscious woman and helped Piper by holding Starling's head up, so she wouldn't choke on the water.

Marina watched from the doorway, not quite sure what to do. She knew field medicine and a few little things here and there, but this was a bit above her level of experience. She watched as Kai's hands clinched and unclenched, like some kind of caged animal. Only able to hear, not actually see what was happening. She knew it must have been eating him up inside, but there was nothing that could be done about that.

"_I just hope that he realizes it was a mistake."_ Marina thought as she left for the bridge. She was of no use here and would only be in the way.

About an hour later they had managed to get the still unconscious woman to drink entire bottle of water. They had to be careful not to give her too much since she was still out cold, but at the same time, they had to get the Morphine out of her blood.

"Rondana, is there anything else we can do to help?" Piper asked as she sat the older woman's head back onto the pillow.

Rondana shook her head. "Not with what we have onboard. If she woke up it would help, but until then, no."

"You could try keeping her warm. Wouldn't that help?" Kai asked from on the floor.

"We're keeping her as warm as we can. Too much heat can be just as bad as none at all." The medic replied.

Piper felt bad for her friend, she had only been doing what she thought would help._ "How could she have known Starling was allergic?"_ That thought did remind her of something though.

"Wait a minute, Rondana gave her the sedative to help her sleep, it's not the cause of whatever is happening." Piper said out loud.

"Maybe, maybe not. Her reaction to it might be what's prolonging her current state. While not being the cause, it certainly didn't do anything to help." Rondana said pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Kai, is there anything else I need to know about Starling? Anything else that would help explain why she's like this?" She asked standing up.

The teen thought it over for a second, but shook his head. "Sorry, not that I know of. She doesn't have any other real allergies, and this never happened before, well, not that I know of."

"So it must be from something recent." Rondana tried to think back to the past two weeks, but she couldn't remember anything strange or unusual. Starling had eaten the same food they had, drank the same drinks they had, and slept in the same beds as they had._ "What am I missing? It must be something very obvious, or very small." _She thought.

"I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything else. If I had my equipment I would have a better idea of what's going on, but aside from that." Rondana's hands dropped to her side.

"Hey, you did your best. We all make mistakes, this was in no way your fault, was it Kai?" Piper asked sending a mid level glare at said person.

Kai didn't flinch; he answered honestly, exactly what he thought.

"You didn't know, it was as much my fault as it was yours. Don't beat yourself up over it, leave some for me eh?" Kai said with a small grin.

Rondana chuckled dryly before her stomach growled.

"I guess I should get something to eat huh?" She asked with a small laugh.

"While you're at it…." Kai left the statement hanging.

"Oh that's right! I bet your hungry aren't you?" Rondana asked looking down at her other patent.

_GGGGRRRROROUUUUUTHHHHHH_

Kai raised his eyebrow. "What? It wasn't me. He noticed that Piper was slightly pink, but decided not to call her on it. This time.

_GGGGEGEGEEGEGEGEEEGGRRROUOOOOOO_

Kai looked the other way. "Ok, that one was."

Rondana snickered. "I'll start something up. You two keep watching Starling for me ok? And let me know the minute her condition changes."

At that the young medic left the three alone.

Neither said anything at first, but soon Piper's curiosity returned.

"Um, Kai." She jumped slightly when the boy's eyes shifted to her without him moving his head.

"_That is so creepy."_ She thought fighting back a shudder.

"Yes?"

"What was that stuff you had me give her? And how did you know it would help?" She asked, looking at the plastic container.

Kai chuckled. "It was actually a gift from Rondana. It accelerates a person's metabolism and absorbs foreign substances from your blood. She makes it for me to use so that I can, how does she put it, Drag my half dead sorry excuse of a hide to her office."

Piper sat back on the floor beside him and pulled a pillow into her lap. "Ok, now I know there's go to be a story behind this." She said getting comfortable.

Back in the kitchen Rondana was trying to keep her hands still long enough to open the fridge. She had managed to keep it together back with the others, but now it was hitting her full force.

"_I almost killed her."_ She thought looking at her hands. _"I'm supposed to be a healer; I'm not supposed to hurt patients."_ She brought her hands together and forced them to her, trying her best to keep the still.

Marina entered the kitchen and noticed her troubled appearance, and immediately figured out what was wrong.

"If you needed help with the food, you could have asked." She said opening one of the packets and dumping out the contents after reading the label.

"_It looks like a grey brick."_ She thought. _"Better add a lot of sauce this time."_ She decided.

"Marina….I…."

"No, Marina me, you Rondana." The woman said in a mock caveman voice without turning around.

Rondana smiled slightly, but it soon vanished.

"Marina, I almost…I….what am I supposed to do?" The girl asked. She was confused and upset, while at the same time angry and sad.

"Why are you asking me? I'm a fighter not a medic. You're the doctor on this ship, what are you supposed to do?" Marina asked, still not turning to face to younger girl.

"I….I'm supposed to…I'm supposed to help you…and take care of your injuries." She said softly.

"Then why are you in here? If you're in here you should be eating something or making something to eat. Which is it?" The older woman asked using a spoon to sample the food.

_PWUIE_

"That's worse that Duku meat. How old is this stuff?" Marina asked before picking up the wrapper.

"By the triforce! THIS STUFF'S BEEN ON HERE SINCE BEFORE MY DAD TOOK THE THRONE!"

Rondana, not having seen the wrapper looked into the pot Marina was using and used a spoon of her own to sample it.

"What's wrong with it? It still tastes like tuna casserole."

"The problem, is that according to the wrapper, IT'S FREEZE DRIED CHICKEN!" Marina shouted before dumping the contents through the garbage chute.

"Ok, that would be a problem." Rondana said with a light laugh.

"Uh, I still can't believe that this is the only stuff he brought with him. Who eats like this?" Marina asked wiping off her tongue with a napkin.

"Prisoners, students, airliner passengers." Rondana said counting off on her fingers.

Marana was now sporting a small smile. "Now that's more like it."

The two then noticed Radarr and Griffy tiptoeing by them for the exit.

"What are you two trying to hide?" Marina asked accusingly.

Radarr and Griffy immediately stopped dead in their tracks, but didn't turn to face the two women.

"Come on, the sooner you spill the sooner I'll let you go." Marina said narrowing her eyes.

Radarr wiped his mouth on his arm before both he and Griffy turned around.

"Is that blood?!" Rondana shouted, suddenly afraid that the two had been hurt.

Marina's nose twitched. "Wait a minute, that's not blood….that's…stake sauce. YOU TWO'VE BEEN HOLDING OUT ON US HAVEN'T YOU?!" Marina roared, suddenly ten times taller with flames appearing behind her.

Radarr and Griggy looked at each other before nodding their heads, and took off.

If opposite directions.

A tick mark was quickly growing on the redhead, while the second girl was just confused.

"Marina, are you…ok?" She asked, not sure what was wrong with her friend.

"You get the flyer. The monkey's mine." Marina said coldly before taking off after Radarr.

Tigger was in a dungeon, she knew it, there was no way she was not being tortured.

Well, kind of.

She had to admit that the freighter was a good ship. Considering that it had been built in an abandoned super carrier at the bottom of terra Deep by one person using stolen or secondhand supplies and tools.

That being said, her inner engineer was working overtime nitpicking it apart.

"_Kai's onto something here, but his welding still needs work, and this thing still needs to be rewired. Add that to the overhaul for the engines and it would probably be cheaper just to buy a new one."_ Tigger shook her head. "As soon as Kai's back up and flying, I'm going to give this thing a proper onceover." She said.

"What?"

Tigger jumped, having forgotten that her friend was still present and that she wasn't alone.

"Oh, uh, I was just thinking out loud." Tigger replied, checking the instruments again.

Shadow, in her quest to avoid boredom, sought out her friend in the cockpit. After Marina left, she quickly claimed the seat and made herself at home.

"What's wrong with the ship that it would need to be fixed? It's not going to suddenly drop out of the sky….is it?" Shadow asked, slightly spooked.

Tigger laughed. "No it's not going to drop like a stone, but it needs a lot of work. Kai is a pretty good mechanic, but he's lousy with detail stuff. He should stick to skimmer's."

"Why?"

"Because there is a difference between skimmer maintenance, and carrier or small ship maintenance. With a skimmer, you can get by using short cuts and doing what it takes to make something work. But that's not a very good idea with anything bigger." Tigger replied.

"Like what?" Shadow asked. Sure, she wasn't a gear head, but she rather listen to her friend babble about stuff she didn't quite understand than just sit and listen to her own thoughts. Especially since they tended to get her into trouble.

"Well, this ships engines for one thing. He shoved them in, even though their made for a ship twice as big as this one, he didn't care and used them anyway." Tigger answered.

"But I thought he made this thing to be fast? Isn't that kind of the whole idea?" Shadow asked not understanding.

"Like I said, you can get away with that on a skimmer, but it's a bad idea with bigger ships. Machines have limits and rules that need to be followed. Yes, by using bigger engines Kai made a small ship very fast, but, it has to be constantly maintained or the engines will rip the thing apart. Even then they will eventually. This thing wasn't built for that kind of stress." Tigger replied.

"Oh…but what about the Condor? Its like, a hundred years old, it's bigger yeah, but it goes even faster. Shouldn't it have fallen apart by now if that were true?" Shadow pointed out.

Tigger lowered her head. "The Condor is the exception, not the rule. How the thing is still in one piece after everything it's been through is a mystery. All I can say for sure is that it was very well built, and the thing seems to poses a will to survive stronger than most humans."

Shadow laughed. "What? Are you saying that it's alive or something?"

Tigger shrugged her shoulders. "Machines have a mind of their own. Ask any mechanic and they'll tell you that. Sometimes it means they cause nothing but trouble, other times…." Tigger didn't know how to explain what she was trying to say. It was a basic principle that all mechanics knew, but was nearly impossible to explain to someone.

"Sometimes a machine can develop….to the point that it's alive."

Shadow gave her a disbelieving look that pretty much said _you're pulling my leg_.

"I'm serious! You told me yourself that sometimes you can feel a place, like you did with terra Deep. Why couldn't the same thing work with a machine or an object?" Tigger asked.

"_She does have a point."_ Thinking back, she was able to recall some…rather unusual things concerning the Condor. Like how it seemed to get faster when one of their lives were in danger, or how all its various little kinks and problems seemed to instantly vanish when they were in battle. She even recalled one time that they were almost out of fuel crystals, but somehow that ship made it to the next port, even though Piper told them repeatedly that there was just no chance of the ship making it, and that they should be ready to abandon ship.

"They say that objects take on pieces of the persons who uses them, good or bad, depending on how they are used, not what they were made for. That's why mechanics always try to repair rather than replace. If you try your hardest, and do your best to keep it alive, one day it might do the same for you." Tigger said solemnly.

"_If that's true, its no wonder the Condor's made it this far. Every person that's ever been a part of its crew was a hero at one time or another."_ Thinking it over, Shadow unstrapped her harness and got up.

"Hey? Where you going?" Tigger asked.

Shadow pulled her crystal ax from its holster and looked it over before turning to her friend.

"To give this thing a good cleaning. It's been awhile and I need to check the crystals anyways." She said before leaving.

Piper shook her head. "Kai, I'm sorry, but you seriously need to get some help."

Kai shot her a hurt look.

"I can see why you try to do this on your own and all, but seriously, you almost died destroying the Phoenix Den, and from what you've told me, that's a pretty common thing for you. One day your luck might run out." Piper said leaning back.

"I told you, it's my job. I've been taking care of it for a year now; and I've been doing fine on my own so far. If I do need help, I get it. Otherwise." Piper butted in.

"But how do you know if you're going to need help? I still don't know exactly what you are, but I'm pretty sure that you're not psychic. And if you do need help, the time it takes for you to go and get it could mean that you've failed by the time you get back." Piper said with a rather disapproving look on her face.

"I…never saw it that way." Kai replied looking away.

"You need to pay more attention to the big picture Kai. Your intentions are good and solid, but your method is like Swiss cheese."

Kai laughed. "You must be hungry. That's the fifth food metaphor you've used so far."

Piper clutched her stomach for a moment before continuing. "Even so, you know that I'm right. What if one day you mess up? What if one day you overestimate yourself, or underestimate the situation? I'll admit you've got quite a load on you, but your responsibility is the same as the Sky Knight's, and that's to keep the people safe. You just don't do it in a way that the people see of know."

"Is that why you always come up with those ridiculously long and complicated plans?" Kai jabbed.

Piper looked up with a small grin. "Nice try, but I know your little tricks now. Stop trying to change the subject and answer the question."

"If something like that were ever to happen, I would just have to hope that Arygyn has a backup plan for when the day comes." Kai said shrugging.

Piper's jaw dropped.

"Ok, that's it, now I know you need help." Piper said getting up.

"What? What did I do?" Kai didn't see what the problem was. She asked a question, he answered it.

"Kai, you can't expect Arygyn to do everything. He's trying to help you, not use you."

Kai shot her a glare.

"Ok, so he IS using you to a degree, but that's because you're the one best suited for the job. Isn't that what you told us before?" Piper asked. She was getting tired, trying to get information while at the same time figure out just what went on in the older teens head was more difficult than she expected. She could see why Arygyn got annoyed with him so easily. Thankfully, years of being the only girl in a group full of guys, particularly when they reached their teens had given her an edge.

"He picked me out didn't he? So there must have been someone before me, and there's going to be people after me. No big deal."

"DOOOOO! Kai, don't you get it? Just because you know there will be someone to take your place doesn't mean you should hand it to them as quickly as you can. I thought you took the Sky Knight trials? You should know this by heart." Piper wanted nothing more than to pound the boys head into the floor. Unfortunately he still had immunity until deemed fit by Rondana.

"Piper, I DO try my hardest. I throw everything I've got into every mission I do until I don't have anything left to give. Why is it that people can't seem to understand that?" Kai said the last part under his breath, but Piper still caught it.

"When you don't have anything left to throw, you ask for your friends to pitch in. Kai, your friends are not a last resort option, they should be your first choice." Once again, Kai stepped in.

"Oh? Like three days ago with the Virage? I told you to run and you didn't listen, it almost got you a free plot of land and would have given me one not to far away after Aerrow found out." Kai fired back.

"Well maybe if you were a little more open, and told us exactly what we we're going to be coming across we would have listened!" Piper countered.

"Piper, I don't have that kind of time. And even if I did, I've only come across one of those things before, and it was on the other side of Atmos. How was I supposed to know it would be there?" Kai defended.

Piper narrowed her eyes. "There you go again, trying to change the subject. Good lord, who taught you that? You're worse than…"

_Click_

"_Let's see if the same trick can work twice."_ Piper's eyes glanced at the unconscious form of Starling before jumping back to Kai.

"Look, I can understand you not wanting to get people hurt, but that doesn't mean it's any safer to go solo. If something happened to you out on a mission, and you were alone, by yourself, nobody would know."

Seeing that Kai was about to cut in, she plowed over him. "What if it was fighting Cyclonians to prevent them from getting their hands on something? You would be gone and Cyclonia would have a new weapon at its disposal. Whatever it was, nobody would know until after it was used, there would be no warning, no protection, and no chance of making an effective first counter. All of that would be because of you going solo."

Kai wanted to argue, but he had nothing that could stand against that line of logic.

"Whatever your past with the Council may be, you still have taken on the responsibility of helping to protect Atmos. That means putting it first above all else. Now I don't know why you have a bounty on your head, and I can see why you are reluctant to accept help from a squadron, but you have to remember than not all help can come from squadrons. There are plenty of people out there like Rondana and Marina, people that want to help and are outside the Council's realm of influence and control. You just need to look for them and ask." Piper's shoulders drooped.

That was it, that was all that she had left in her. Kai seemed to be a Hydra when it came to arguments. Every time she cut one off, two more would grow from the stump. _"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that it was a hobby of his, coming up with arguments, counters and distractions. Shessh, I don't even want to think of what he would be like as a lawyer, or worse, a Council member."_ Piper would have laughed if she had the strength. It would be a fitting punishment for them.

"The reason the Council wants to get rid of me…"

Piper looked up.

"Is because they no longer have any use for me, not if live Dragon's have been found." Kai said slowly.

Piper found just a little bit of strength left in her, and using it she moved to sit beside Kai's head, and crossing her legs, she rested back slightly on her arms.

"I've always enjoyed a good story." She said softly.

Kai weighed his options, and seeing that her face was tired, but willing and interested, he closed his eyes, and began to recount a story that had been in the works for the last five years.

His Story.

End Chapter 4

AN: Waho! Now that was a rollercoaster wasn't it? As I said before, I started this out as a total comedy chapter, but then I heard my muse start whispering 'Let's show a little more' and 'I think its time.' When she said 'Give me your pizza' though, I told her to take a hike lol. Seriously, this chapter seemed to write itself, and with the information I've gotten on the last 4 episodes, I've gotten plenty more ideas.

This story DOES have a map, but it only shows start and finish. How I get there is up to my muse. I wanted to thank those of you that have reviewed so far, and I hope that I haven't forgotten to reply to anyone. My internet is a bit…unreliable, so if I missed anyone, I apologize. Please continue reading, and hopefully, reviewing.

Be on the lookout for Forty Eight Hours of Horror and Humor! Part II

To be out soon. Till next time! Ja Ne!


	5. Forty Eight Hours of Horror and Humor P2

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 5: Forty Eight Hours of Horror and Humor! Part II

AN: Alright, I know this is a bit late, but something came up and you know the rest. Please except this super sized chapter as my apology. This chapter is a flip of the previous one, starting out serious, getting even more serious, and then becoming gradually more light hearted. On another note, I am now very much convinced that someone at Nerd Corps is reading my work and is either psychic, or is very good at seeing how loose ends will tie up in the end. I now have a few more adjustments to make to my stories end to keep it remotely original. Also there is a part of this chapter that will be narrated. For purposes none other than my own amusement and that it fits, I have chosen the narrator to be Creg Ellis. Look up the Teen Titan episode 'Spellbound' he played Malchior and narrated the first bit of the episode.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, and this story.

Shadow and Griffy are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to ExNarrator01

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made by and owned by MissDedodakes

Piper lay in her bed staring at the bunk above her wide-eyed.

"_I still can't believe it. How could someone do so much in only five years? He's been across most of Atmos and to almost every known terra. Heck, I bet his maps are more accurate than most of the ones we get."_ Piper rolled over onto her stomach and looked across the room to 'Kai's fort' as Shadow called it.

In reality it was two chairs back to back with a sheet over it, but it was enough for what they needed.

Namely a visible barrier between him and them.

It was one thing to share a room when he had been unconscious, but now that he was awake….well, she, and pretty much everyone else (with the exception of Marina) felt much better about him having the enclosed room. (Most surprisingly, him.)

She had spent most of the day with him, and though it took her almost the entire morning, she managed to crack him open.

"_That's not true, he LET me in. No way could I have forced it, he's just too stubborn and strong willed."_ She thought shaking her head.

"_But, it's a good thing he's like that I suppose. I doubt he'd made it this far if he wasn't."_

To say that she had been surprised by what she had learned would have been the understatement of the century. She knew it was the same boy she had met six years ago, but at the same time, she had forgotten.

"_In my defense, he looks nothing like he did back then."_ Piper thought. Sure, people change when they grow up, she knew that. But for their eye color to change from blue to yellow?

That of course had been a…difficult part for Kai. He still had his fair share of secrets, and he didn't go into exact detail with what had happened, glossing over most of it, but he had told her enough that when combined with what she already knew, she was able to piece together most of the story.

"_I'm still surprised that he turned out the way he did."_ Piper found herself to be extremely thankful for Starling and what she had done. Piper was no fool, she had seen both roads, and both paths. She knew full well how easy it was for a person to change sides, both physically and mentally. She knew that were it not for his friendship with Starling, he would have gone to Cyclonia in a heartbeat.

He did have friends now, several that he was closer to than she was with the other members of her squadron, but they all had one thing in common, Starling. Remove her from the picture, and none of the other connections would have been made.

"_Starling, you might have given us the chance we need to win this war."_ She thought looking back at the still unconscious woman.

"_And that's no exaggeration either. We're hurting bad enough as is. If Kai had ever joined the Cyclonian's, we'd been finished. Keeping him neutral and on our side has done more than either of them realize."_

Everyone had a talent; everyone had something that they excelled at. For Piper, it was thinking and planning. Starting multiple trains of thought that all ran along the same track, only making a single change along the way and seeing where they ended.

Kai was only one person, and though his impact in fighting Cyclonia was small, it was enough to make her shudder at the thought of him having turned.

"_Kai can fight most Sky Knight's one on one. He might not be able to beat them, but he can hold his own. He even admitted himself that he's never beaten Starling, Suzi, Scorch or Carver in a one on one duel, but I know he could hold anyone of them off long enough for their squadrons to be torn apart by Dark Ace."_

That was the impact she saw. He only made a small difference when helping them because they were so bad off, but if he were fighting against them? Things would have been much worse.

"_He has a third of Lark's power, and about half of Dark Ace's skill. If he had a squad of Talons…oh god. What if Lark gave him command of Nightcralwers? His crystal generates dark energy, and they feed of the stuff like lecher crystals on a mining ship!"_

And there it was, the sad truth. Kai would have been ten times more useful to the Cyclonian'sthan he was to them at the moment. It was much more important to keep him from joining Cyclonia then it was to keep him fighting for them.

"_So much talent, so much potential all gone to waste because of a bunch of old fogies got spooked."_

That was another thing that got to her. Kai's years of training from Starling had been invaluable in keeping him alive thus far, but it was so far removed from the training he received in his year on the run that it stunted his maximum potential permanently. It was true that he had done a great job at blending and mixing the various style and techniques he had learned over the years, granting him a level of flexibility and unpredictability rarely seen. But at the same time his skill in any one area was lacking. He just didn't know enough of any one thing to excel in, and it was too late to retrain him from the ground up. He would always be a Jack of all trades, skilled and dangerous, being able to defeat the most talented of rookies and most experienced of veterans, able to defeat all that stood before him except the King's, the Queen's, and the Ace's.

The only ones that really counted.

In laymen's terms, he was forever doomed to be a supporter or assistant, never a frontline fighter. Her grandfather, were he still alive, would have called him a broken sword. He was still dangerous, and he was still useful, but he would never be as useful or as dangerous as the full thing.

Piper looked over to where she knew Kai to be one last time before closing her eyes and drifting off to the realm of dreams, with only a single thought.

"_Another time, another place, and who would have known?"_

Morning came quickly to the crew, or at least, more quickly than they would have cared for. They had decided that Piper would get the day off from 'crewsitting' and that the others (with the exception of Tigger since she was the temporary pilot) would take shifts.

"Rise and shine sleepy head." Rondana said pulling back the sheet from Kai's room.

"Morning." He replied flatly.

"You're actually awake? How long have you been up?"

Kai turned to face the medic, and she immediately knew the answer just by how his ragged his face looked.

"_Did he get any sleep at all?"_

"I woke up a little while ago. Any change with Star?" He asked motioning his head towards her bunk.

Rondana shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not." She was silent for a minute and was about to apologize when Kai beat her to it.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have bitten your head off, and like I said, there was no way for you to know." Kai said before turning to face the other way.

"_Kai…thank you."_ Rondana gave a small smile before dropping to his side. "I need to change your wrappings. Try not to move too much ok?"

"Yeah yeah, I know the routine." Kai replied dryly.

"Just so you know, that's not a good thing." She said teasingly.

Lifting him up as carefully as she could, she unwrapped the bandages and cleaned the wounds as carefully as she could. Kai never once flinched or tensed, but she was careful all the same.

"_He might not show any signs of hurting, but that doesn't mean he can't feel pain."_ Truth be told, she preferred patients that _did_ flinch and tense. It was a good gage for her to tell how fall along they were in healing, and it helped her in finding internal injuries.

Looking him over, she saw that most of the injuries had scabbed, and that only a few had fresh blood seeping.

"Well, most of your lacerations are closed, and the stitches should be able to come out in a few days. You're lucky that you got out of that blast with just cuts and scrapes. How you didn't get third degree burns is a miracle." She said pulling out some gauze and a roll of bandage tape.

"Uh, aren't you forgetting about the ribs?" Kai asked looking up at the younger teen.

"I said the blast; those came from landing on the ship." She replied as she finished tying the bandages with a bow.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that." Kai said with a groan.

"It's so I can get them off easily in case of an emergency."

"What kind of emergency are you expecting?" Kai asked, suddenly nervous.

Rondana couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Not for you, other patients. It's just part of my standard procedure. In the past I've had to do emergency surgery, and when that happens every second counts." She replied.

"I guess that makes sense." Kai said clinching his teeth slightly as Rondana helped him lay back down.

This was not missed by Rondana, after all she was a doctor, and had been treating Kai for over a year now.

"Look, I know you like to do your whole tuff guy act and all, but are you ok?"

Kai looked at her questioning. "What are you talking about?"

Rondana narrowed her eyes in thought as she spoke. "Out of all the time's I've treated you, that was only the second time I remember you ever showing signs of being in pain, and the first time was when Marina brought you in four days ago. Is something wrong?"

Kai thought it over. _"Actually, I do feel….weak."_

"Please Kai, it might be something serious. I know you have a high tolerance for pain, so for you to winch like that something must be seriously wrong."

"I…it's hard to explain."

Rondana sat next to him with a raised eyebrow.

Kai scoffed. "It's not like when other people say that."

"Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that one before?" Rondana replied dryly.

"I'm serious; I don't really know how to explain it. It's like…I feel like I'm running on full charge, but…I still feel weak."

"You're going to have to do better than that."

Kai rolled his eyes. "I feel like somebody buried my in a pit of sand and filled it in."

Rondana's eyes widened. "You feel pressure? Kai that could be something!" Before she could finish Kai cut her off.

"No, I didn't say I felt any pressure. It's like I said, it's hard to describe. I feel fine, just not….fine."

Thinking over what Kai had said, she had to admit that she had never heard of anything like it before. Something that was actually quite common when it came to Kai.

"_Fine but not fine, full charge but weak?"_

"Look, the only way I can really describe it is I feel like I'm weaker than usual. I know what I normally feel like, and I know what I feel like when I'm healing. But this isn't it." Kai replied shaking his head.

"Have you ever felt like this before?" Rondana asked.

Kai shook his head. "No, not that I can remember. It's not like I'm in any more pain, I'm just more aware of it."

Rondana's eyes lit up. "You're saying that you feel like you're weaker than normal, right?"

Thinking for a moment, Kai nodded. "I guess that's a good way of putting it. It's like waking up and finding that your three feet shorter than you were when you went to bed."

"_It's not that he's in more pain, it's that his tolerance for pain is less than usual."_ "I'm sorry Kai, but you've always been a bit of an odd case. I treat normal people all the time, but you're the only patient I treat that has any kind of special abilities on a regular basis. The others might be more helpful with this sort of thing." Rondana said apologetically.

"Meh, if it keeps up I'll worry. It's probably just me getting lazy from lying around half a week. Why don't you go get some breakfast? We'll be fine, and if anything changes I'll call ok?" Kai said looking back up at the ceiling.

"We? Oh, Starling, I almost forgot about her, the good patient that hasn't complained none stop." Rondana said teasingly. "If you're sure?"

"Get something to eat while there's still food left. You know how the others are." Kai said with a small grin.

Rondana's eyes widened before she quickly excused herself and made a break for the other room.

"So Piper, what did you two talk about yesterday? Or did Kai do his statue impression all day?" Marina asked before stabbing at her meal again.

_Bink_

The tick mark reappeared and Marina glared at her plat of food and now bent fork. _"In all my years I have never seen breakfast fight back against being eaten."_ She thought before getting up to get another fork.

Piper looked up from stabbing at her own plate, but not actually aiming at her food. She just wasn't hungry. "Huh? Oh, sorry I kind of zoned out there. What was it?" She asked.

"Just wondering what you and tall dark and moody were talking about all day yesterday." Marina said sitting back down. (This time with a meat prong)

"You know, he's not that bad once you get to know him better." Piper said without thinking.

"Get to know him better? I doubt anyone outside himself knows him all that well." Marina said with a small hint of satisfaction as she pierced the breakfast meat with the six inch long fork prong.

"Hey! That's my friend you're talking about!" Shadow pouted.

Marina looked up with a skeptical eye, and noticed that both Piper and Shadow were giving her mid level glares.

"What? I don't know him all that well. All I can do is call him by what I see. So far he's ignored his teammates and been about as hospitable as a rattlesnake. He might be a strong fighter but he really needs to work on his personality." Marina said waving her fork towards the other two.

"Just because he's not like most people is no reason to talk about him like that. If you knew half the stuff he's been through you'd!" Before Piper could finish Rondana walked in.

"Morning, save anything for me?"

Shadow waved towards the stove top where the mostly burned and charred meal was resting.

"Oh….uh, who cooked this morning?" Rondana said poking lightly at the…dish.

"I did, but I think it got a little burned." Marina replied as she took another bite of her extra crunchy scrambled eggs that were hard enough to bend normal forks.

"How's Kai doing?" Shadow asked as she held down her plate to Griffy who was beneath the table.

"He's better; most of his wounds are healing nicely. Those strange scratches on his shoulders are gone, but his ribs need another day to set." She replied taking the frying pan with her over to the table with a fork.

"He giving you anymore lip?" Marina asked between bites.

Rondana shook her head and smiled. "He's pretty much back to his normal self, a little bored, but aside from that he's fine."

"Not taking first shift." Marina said between bites.

Piper grined. "Immunity."

Shadow and Rondana looked at each other.

"Not it!"

Shadow gaped.

"But…but…I'm not even allowed to be left alone! Remember what happened when I tried to watch Tinky?"

Piper shuddered before replying. "Look, it's not all that hard. You just have to be there in case he needs something. He's your friend right?"

Shadow pouted. "He IS my friend….I just don't look forward to sitting on my butt all day doing nothing." Shadow said crossing her arms.

"What's the difference? You sat in the cockpit most of yesterday playing fifty questions with Tigger." Marina pointed out.

"The DIFFERENCE….is that Kai's boring." Shadow said the last part with the strongest pout she could muster.

"Oh come on Shadow. Kai's like an older male version of me." Piper said giving the younger girl a shoulder nudge.

"I know, that's what I said. Boring." Shadow replied with a grin.

Piper's good natured grin turned to a frown. "Well sorry, but it's your turn."

Shadow huffed before getting up and dragging her feet back to the crew quarters.

Kai's ear twitched at the sound of feet shuffling.

"And today's short straw drawer is?" Kai said sarcastically.

Shadow walked into the room and climbed back on top of her bunk.

"So you're my entertainment for today eh?" Kai said with a small smirk.

"Ha ha very funny." Shadow said dryly.

This caused Kai to narrow his eyes in confusion.

"Shadow? Are you alright?" Kai asked, concern clear in his voice.

Shadow looked over at Kai with an expression he had never seen before. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that he didn't like it.

"Just peachy, how about you?" She asked smartly.

This confused Kai even more.

"_What's her problem? Shadow's always been happy to see me before, why the sudden change?"_ Looking at her face as best he could, he tried to figure out what her expression was. It wasn't anger, or sadness, but it did seem to be related. _"The closest I've ever seen to that was when Star found out about my…recent dealings from Arygyn."_

Shadow's face was mostly blank, but her lips were slightly drawn downwards. The only other thing that stood out was her eyes.

"_It's that same look. What is it?"_

Shadow turned her face away from him and looked down at the rooms one other occupant.

"She doing alright?" Shadow asked, not looking at Kai.

"As far as I can tell, it's not like I've seen her much recently. The most I can actually see is the end of her ponytail." Kai replied carefully before asking. "Does she…look ok? Yesterday she was a little pale." Kai asked, still concerned about Shadow's odd behavior, but at the same time worried about his other friends health.

Shadow was still looking at said friend when she responded. "She's still pale, but some of her color's back."

Kai nodded slightly; glad to hear she wasn't doing any worse at least.

"Any idea what's wrong with her?"

Shadow looked back at Kai with the same expression, but was quirking an eyebrow. "I'm not a doctor, how would I know?"

"_Why is her tone so sharp? Did I say something during my three day nap to tick her off or something?"_ It wasn't much, but the only thing Kai could do was to keep her talking. That way he had a chance at figuring out what the problem was.

"I just figured that with all the weird things you see with the Storm Hawks that you might have seen something similar."

Shadow hopped off the bed and landed in a crouch position, almost like a cat. She shot Kai that same look before walking past him to Starling.

"_What's her damage? She's always been…well….happy to se me in the past. What's up with the silent treatment?"_ Thinking back, Kai realized that she had been giving him the cold shoulder and the silent treatment since she had arrived at his base.

"She's drained."

Kai would have jumped were he not on his back.

"What?"

Shadow walked past Kai back to her bunk, and without even looking at him climbed back up to her spot.

"I said she's drained. Aerrow looks like that when he uses the Lighting Claw too many times." She replied, still not looking at him.

"_Ok, so she's upset with me, I know that much. The question now is what did I do?"_ "But how could that have happened? She hasn't used her attack, wait a minute, did you guys run into anything back at the Phoenix Den?" Kai asked, now worried that he had missed more than he had thought.

Shadow sighed. "No, we didn't fight anything. Starling was flying us to you when she started up. I don't know what caused it, but somehow her energy was completely drained."

"How do you know?" Kai asked. Sure, her attitude was getting to him, but he wanted to know more about this, and he was still trying to figure out what was wrong with Shadow.

"I know because I've seen it before, several times actually. We had a pretty bad run in about a month ago with Dark Ace. I don't know what he said, but it pushed Aerrow over the edge and he started firing off the Lightning Claw like mad."

Hearing her stop, Kai spoke up. "Well? What happened?"

Shadow was silent for a moment, but she continued. "We drove them back; Aerrow almost crashed his skimmer and fell off it as soon as he landed. After that he was out for a day or so, woke up, felt like he had a hangover and was pretty much useless for the next week."

"Ok, but still, how do you know? What are the symptoms?" Kai asked.

Shadow huffed. "Pale skin and out cold for three days straight." She replied.

Kai ran the information over, it did seem plausible, but there were two problems with it. First, Starling hadn't fought anything lately, much less use her move. Second, Kai didn't hear Shadow mention Aerrow being in severe pain.

"But if that's the case, why was Star in so much pain?"

Shadow was silent at this.

"Shadow? Hello? Anyone there?"

"WHAT!?" She shouted.

Finally giving up on figuring out what was wrong, Kai went for the direct approach.

"Shadow? What's wrong? You've been…well…not yourself lately."

Kai's sensitive ears heard her breathing change from slightly hard and agitated to heavy hisses between clinched teeth.

"What is my problem? My problem is, is YOU!"

Turning towards his friend as best he could, Kai was surprised by the face he saw.

"_SWEET HOLY MOTHER OF!"_

Kai was unique when compared to most males in that he had spent much more time in the company of woman. He had been raised by his mother and Starling, spent quite a bit of time with Suzi-Lu, and he had traveled in the company of Tigger and Aladd, as well as being Rondana's patient frequently in the last year. So seeing an angry female was something he had grown accustomed to.

That being said, nothing could have prepared him for what he faced now.

Shadow's emerald green eyes blazed with anger that he had never before seen, even in Rose. They didn't even hit him as much as they just went right through him. It didn't take a genius to tell that she was angry. It pored from every inch of five foot four frame.

"_Yep, she's definitely her daddy's little girl."_ Kai couldn't help but notice the resemblance. Normally she looked like her mother, or so he had been told. But when angry, her father came out in spades, making her look every bit as dangerous as him.

"My problem is that you think so little of your friends that you would keep everything that's happened from them for over a YEAR! Do you know what I was doing this morning? I was helping Piper, PIPER! defend your character from Marina! I don't even know why I did it, because everything she said was true!"

Kai was so taken back that he couldn't even speak.

"You treat us like library books! Only taking us off the shelf when you have no clue what to do, and then as soon as you're finished you just go back and put us on the shelf." Shadow stopped for a second to catch her breath, but Kai knew she was far from being finished.

"You run off and keep to yourself, only showing up to help out when someone needs it then you go and take off again disappearing into the closest shadow or dark alley. You hide from your friends, keep things from them and never even give them a chance to help! Why are you so convinced that your friends either don't care, or don't have the time to help you? Is it so hard to believe that we lowly humans, who are so far beneath you, are actually capable of helping you?!"

Kai lay still with a dumbstruck look on his face. Shadow's eyes never left his own, and even though her chest was heaving deeply with each breath, he silently knew that she was _giving_ him a chance to defend himself. She was nowhere near running out of steam.

After a few seconds passed and Kai's brain rebooted, he chose his words carefully.

"Shadow, what on Atmos are you talking about?"

Ok, so not exactly carefully.

Shadow clinched her fist tight, and still looking him dead in the eye dropped off the bunk and marched up to him.

"You, you think that just because we are squad members or just because we are under the Council's command, that we can't, or won't help you?" She seethed.

"I never said that."

Stopping a foot away from him, Shadow looked down at him with a twisted look of scorn on her face.

"Oh? Forgetting about yesterday already aren't we?"

It took a second, but Kai figured out what she was talking about.

"Yeah, I didn't hear everything from yesterday, but I did catch a good deal of the end." Shadow said scowling.

_Flashback_

"Hmm, if what Tigger said is true, my ax is going to let me die the first chance it gets." Shadow said looking at her weapon wearily. That's when she heard Piper's voice coming from the crew quarters.

"_Man, I haven't heard her that ticked off since the time Finn washed his lucky red boxers with her whites."_

Looking back towards the cockpit and seeing that Tigger was busy flying, and still able to hear Marina and Rondana chasing Radarr and Griffy in the hanger, she went up to the door and put her ear against it. The voices were a bit hard to hear through the metal door, but she could still make them out.

"What if it was fighting Cyclonians to prevent them from getting their hands on something? You would be gone and Cyclonia would have a new weapon at its disposal. Whatever it was, nobody would know until after it was used, there would be no warning, no protection, and no chance of making an effective first counter. All of that would be because of you going solo."

"_What is Piper talking about?"_

Pushing her self closer to the door, she heard Piper continue.

"Whatever your past with the Council may be, you still have taken on the responsibility of helping to protect Atmos. That means putting it first above all else. Now I don't know why you have a bounty on your head, and I can see why you are reluctant to accept help from a squadron, but you have to remember than not all help can come from squadrons. There are plenty of people out there like Rondana and Marina, people that want to help and are outside the Council's realm of influence and control. You just need to look for them and ask."

When several seconds passed and she didn't hear anything she moved away from the door.

"_Kai still doesn't want our help?"_ Shadow felt the pain from the previous two weeks explode inside of her as she clinched her fist around her axes hilt.

_Flashback end_

"Do you have any idea how much it hurts to find out that someone you had thought of as a friend, sees you as being unable, or worse, unwilling to be of any use or help?" Shadow's voice was so cold that Kai could have sworn that he saw his own breath.

Finally gaining control, Kai spoke.

"Shadow, I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt any of you. That why I left you out."

Shadow's eyes narrowed further.

"I knew that anyone that tried to help me would become a target of the Council, and that they're looking for any excuse they can get their hands on to label you as a traitor. Just being around me puts you at risk."

If anything, this seemed to make her even madder, if they were possible.

"So your saying that if someone is in trouble with the Council, that everyone should just stay away? Avoid them? Not even bother trying to help them out?" She asked in a steely tone.

"Yes! That's what I'm trying to say!" Kai shouted.

And regretted as soon as he said it.

Her face changed from anger to hurt so fast that Kai missed it in a blink.

"Nice to know where your _friends_ stand with you." She said before turning and climbing back up to her bunk.

"_Great going Kai. You just managed to hit her the hardest where it hurt the most."_ He thought shaking his head.

Marina watched from a tiny crack in the doorway. She had expected something like this to happen eventually. She was positive that this was not Kai's true nature. She had seen him fight, she had seen the real him. The only problem was that the real him was buried deep under many layers of pretenses and acts. She knew that at heart he had to be a good person, otherwise he wouldn't have friends, much less powerful friends that followed a code of honor.

"_Now Kai, let me see your true self. Show me who the others have seen to earn their trust and loyalty."_

Kai groaned, and using every ounce of strength he had, sat upright. The pain was making him see spots, and the edge of his vision was blurred, but right now he didn't care.

"_Gotta fix this one fast. Come on Kai, you survived Blister and Burners training, you can take this!"_ Kai clinched his teeth as he pushed himself over to his stomach, and then pushed himself up as gently as he could. He had to be careful, his ribs were still loose, and he did not want to go through _another_ five days of this.

Looking around to Shadow, he saw that she was laying back and staring at the ceiling, seemingly unaware that he had even gotten up.

"_Man this bites. Kai, why can't you keep your mouth shut? It would save you so much trouble if you could just keep you thoughts and intentions to yourself."_ He thought as he made his way to the bunk beds.

"Hey, Shadow." Kai shook her arm gently, but wasn't too surprised at her lack or response.

"_Rondana's going to skin me alive for this, I know it."_ Kai though shaking his head as he pulled himself up to the top bunk.

Teeth bared, mind numb with pain and filled with 'colorful metaphors' Kai managed to pull himself up and fell beside Shadow.

"Shadow, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

_Silence_

"Look, I…you know that I would do anything in my power to help you in any situation, including, and especially if it was because of the Council."

Shadow turned to him with the same hurt expression from before.

"I'm really, really sorry. Please, if…if there's anything I can do."

"Answer one question, just one, and I _might_ forgive you in the future." Shadow said. Her voice had lost most of its anger, but the hurt that it contained was almost as powerful.

Kai nodded his head.

"Are you willing to help me?"

"Shadow, you know that." He was cut off.

"Would you be willing to fight against the Council, would you be willing to fight against free Atmos if they were after me? Not hide me, not help me run, I'm asking if you would stand by my side, stand back to back with me, and help me fight?"

Kai was surprised by the intensity she had for the third time today. The question itself was also one that he knew to be layered.

"Shadow, you know that I would help you in any way possible. Yes, I would fight by your side."

Looking him dead in the eye, she surprised him by asking one last question.

"Then why wouldn't I do the same for you?"

Kai froze.

"You're one of my best friends Kai, if you're willing to do all that for me, why wouldn't I do it for you?"

Swallowing, Kai tried to think of an answer, but was having difficulty doing so.

"_I never thought of that. I was so focused on trying to keep them out of trouble, I never even considered the possibility that they would WANT to help."_

Looking up, Kai shook his head. "I'm an idiot."

"Among other things."

Kai nearly fell out of the bunk at the sound of another voice behind them.

"Marina? What are you doing here?" Kai asked wincing.

"Just came by to take my shift." Her face then went from 'normal' to 'smirk' mode. "Why are you up there? I thought you were…what's the term? Oh yes, grounded."

Kai shot her a low level glare. "I was trying to apologize." He said lowering his head.

"Come on Tarzan, let's get you down before Rondana see's you and gives you five more days." Marina said offering her hand.

Kai looked back to Shadow, and saw that she still had that same look on her face, the same one that Starling had when she had tried to confront me in my gym.

"_There's that look again. What is it?"_

Maraina followed Kai's gaze back to Shadow, and quickly decided that the boy, while being deserving of what was coming his way, wasn't entirely to blame.

"Shadow, go get some lunch, I'll take over ok?"

Shadow hopped down and left the room without responding, and shut the hatch behind her.

Marina silently helped Kai back to his spot on the ground, and checked his ribs to make sure they hadn't shifted, again.

"It was disappointment."

Kai blinked.

"What?"

"The look on her face, it was disappointment, disappointment in you. I take it you're not familiar with that look are you?"

"No, I've only seen it one other time, and that was two weeks ago." Kai said wincing slightly.

"Hmm, looks like your ribs tried to shift, but were mended just enough to stay in place." Marina said before pulling up a cushion to sit beside Kai.

Kai let out a sigh. "What? Now you're going to lay in on me too?"

Marina chuckled. "No, fraid not. I haven't known you long enough yet. Sides, I don't think I could top Shadow's act. I prefer not to compete when I can help it."

Seeing that Kai wasn't going to respond, she spoke up.

"You know she really looked up to you."

Kai turned to look at her.

"Can't imagine why."

Marina got an odd look on her face, a mix between confused and startled. "You can't be that dense."

Kai just looked at her dully. "Look, I apparently missed all the lessons on 'Me and my friends' along with 'How to play well with others'. So if you don't mind could you cut the 'ye must learn tyself' junk and just tell me how I screwed up?" Kai said crossly.

Marina shook her head. "I can't believe you never figured it out." Seeing Kai's unchanged expression, she groaned. "Boy, you are thick. Look, Shadow looked up to you because to some degree, she idolized you."

Kai snorted.

"It's true. She told us herself."

_Flashback two weeks ago_

"Ok Shadow, your turn."

Shadow stopped laughing and got suddenly nervous. "Ummm Truth."

Piper grew a Suzi sized grin. "Why are you always so happy when Kai is around?"

Shadow's face went from worried to happy. "Well duh! He's my friend! Why wouldn't I be happy?"

Piper shook her head. "Not good enough. Come on, spill. You got a crush on him don't you?"

Shadow got a horrified look on her face. "Eww! He's like six years older than me! I like him, but not like that."

"Then how do you like him?"

Everyone turned to Marina with stunned looks on their faces.

"What? I can be curious too." She said crossing her arms.

"I look up to him." Shadow said, breaking the odd silence.

"What?" Piper asked, hopelessly confused.

"I said I look up to him. He's a good friend and has always been there to help out when a friend needs him. He's strong, lives on his own, doesn't need help from anybody, and, he doesn't judge people for things out of their control." She said the last part softly, but the others heard it.

Perking up slightly, Shadow looked over at Starling with an impish grin. "Your turn Starling. Truth or dare?"

_Flashback end_

Kai shook his head. "I'm nothing to look up to. How good of a friend could I be when I."

Marina cut him off. "Aw no no no no, no. We will be having no pity trips in this conversation." Seeing Kai raise his eye brow, she continued. "Look, you might not see it, but others do. You're a good person, just a little…underdeveloped in some areas."

Kai's face fell slightly.

"I don't think Shadow's taken a sledgehammer to your statue yet, but I don't think she'll be making any trips to that part of her mind for a while. Just let her cool off a bit, and stop acting like such dunce."

Seeing that Kai had nothing to say, Marina sat back and relaxed.

The next few hours were relatively quiet, with the only exceptions being Radarr and Griffy running down the hallway for a few minutes.

"Hey Marina, would you mind making dinner tonight? I'm still a bit….shaky from yesterday."

Marina and Kai both looked up at the door way and were surprised to see Rondana.

"Alright, I could use a change of scenery. Kai's been a bit quiet lately, and no way am I eating another of Piper's surprise sandwiches." Marina said stretching as she got up.

Rondana chuckled while Kai shuddered. He had been a guest aboard the Condor before, and while Piper was a great cook, her skills outside of the area of breakfast was lacking.

Once Marina was gone, Rondana skipped over to her bed and pulled out her book, quickly finding the page she had been on last night before putting the book up, she settled in for a good reading.

Again, silence seemed to rule supreme.

"What'ch reading?" Kai asked, finally succumbing to boredom.

"Nothing you'd like." Rondana replied burying her nose back into her book.

Normally, Kai would have left well enough alone. But he had rarely become this bored before. With all that had happened the last two weeks, two days of immobility had left him extremely yancie. That combined with his boredom created….odd results.

"Try me." Kai challenged.

Rondana peeked over the top of her book. "Drop it ok. I'm trying to read." She shot back.

Rondana was not one to snap on a usual basis, but the book was rather good, and she really wanted to finish the chapter before the others, (mostly Piper) came back from eating.

Not one to be ignored, Kai decided to have a bit of fun. With a small grin on his face, he decided to remind Rondana that she was supposed to be watching him and Starling, not reading and ignoring them.

"_It needs to be something annoying, but not to the point she'll blowup_ _on me."_ Thinking over his options, which were rather limited given his current state, he came up with something that he knew would catch her attention.

"_Wondecamo knew that he was in danger. Lance had all but killed him in their last duel, and his injuries had yet to heal. Still, he would not be deterred. Rebecca had to be stopped at all cost. Yes, he knew her secret. The body was Rachel's, but it was not Rachel that was in control. His Rachel would never have"_

_Rapid laser fire_

Rondana dropped her book and jumped as a skimmer flew by her.

The size of a paper plate.

"What the!" Before she could finish a second skimmer flew by her.

"I won't miss this time!" I tiny squeaky voice shouted from the second skimmer.

"Na na na na na!" The first one then blew a raspberry in a similar squeaky voice before doing a barrel roll to dodge the incoming fire.

Rondana watched as the two tiny skimmers flew around the room chasing each other and exchanging burst of blaster fire and insults.

It might have been entertaining had the two pilot's voices not sounded like mice on helium.

Finally one of the skimmers got lucky and hit the other. The pilot jumped and deployed its parachute, shouting insults and obscenities at the winner while shaking its tiny fist.

The winner circled round the room until it came back to Rondana.

Once it got about a foot away from her, she was able to make out the pilot. Blue and brown patchwork flight suit, with a shock of bright blond hair sticking straight up.

"What's up hot stuff? Chica-cha." The squeaky voiced pilot then fired its fingers like they were a pair of pistols.

Rondana growled before swinging her book around and hit the tiny skimmer with the force of a runaway freight train.

"AHHHH! Alpha tango charily niner niner!" The pilot's voice squeaked as it tried to regain control of the skimmer only to crash into a wall and explode. The pilot fell and did the splits onto the rooms sink faucet and shrieked in an even higher pitched voice.

It took a second for everything to sink in, but when it did Rondana turned to Kai with a glare.

"What the heck was that?!" _"Why wont anyone let me finish my book!"_ Inside her mind a chibi Rondana cried at the injustices of it all.

"That's what happens when I get bored. Stop ignoring me or it will get worse." Kai threatened teasingly.

Rondana raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh no something worse than being flirted with by a mini Finn, what ever will I do?" She said dryly as she tossed on of her hands to her forehead and arched back with a flourish.

"Hey, that wasn't even my normal lowest setting of annoyance. That was just a warning shot."

"Oh? And just what is your lowest?" Rondana said going back to her book.

"Level one is you being stuck in the musical production of My Fair Lady with the Rex Guardian's as the supporting cast."

Rondana dropped her book.

"That's level one?" She said as her eyes widened in horror.

Kai grinned to himself. It was true that he did have a few things worse than that up his sleeve, but not many. That was actually about as high as he would go unless he was desperate. Rondana however did not know this.

"Fine you win. It's a romance novel ok? There are you happy?" Rondana said crossing her arms.

Kai gagged. "Why do girls even read that trash? It's not like that kind of stuff ever happens." Kai said shuddering.

"So? It's called fantasy. Some people like to dream, nothing wrong with that." Rondana said slightly offended.

"It is when it's poorly written. That stuffs an insult to good writing everywhere." Kai fired.

"Hey! That was uncalled for. Not _all_ of them are that bad."

"Oh yeah? What's the general plot for that one? Some chick gets hurt in a sky diving accident and gets taken over by an ancestor's ghost?" Kai teased.

"No! It was a driving accident! And it wasn't a dead ancestor; it was her dead adopted half sister! So ha!" Rondana said sticking out her tongue.

Kai's left eyebrow started twitching along with a rather large tick mark. "That's just as lame! Good grief I could write something better than that!" Kai shouted.

"Ptth, you couldn't write a script for a fifth grade drama." Rondana said going back to her book.

"Is that a challenge?"

Rondana looked up. "Excuse me?"

"I asked if that was a challenge. Well? Is it?"

Thinking it over a bit, Rondana looked back at her book. _"Well…its not like he could do much worse…."_ "Ok fine, it is."

"What are the stakes?" Kai was now beaming. He was no longer bored, and had a chance to poke some fun at one of his (and every other males) arch enemies.

"What do you want? It's not like I can heal you faster, and I didn't bring any cash."

Kai though it over. "I'll bet a favor for it. You win, you get one from me, I win, and I get one from you."

"Within reason of course." Rondana said not liking the terms to begin with.

"Whatever you say, sides I'm going to win." Kai said confidently.

Rondana rolled her eyes. "It's going to have to wait a while though. You can't even sit up yet, so we'll just AHHH!" Rondana nearly jumped out of her skin as a large book suddenly appeared hovering in mid air before her.

"Na, I don't need hands to write." Kai teased.

It took her a few seconds to calm her breathing, but when she did, Rondana glared at Kai and was about to throw her book at him when she heard a voice begin speaking, and saw writing suddenly appear on the book's blank pages at a pace average for someone writing with a quill.

(Narration starts here, if you don't know who they guy I used is, he's a mid 30's British actor)

Darkness

It surrounded him, it enveloped him, it became him. Since the day of his birth, he had been sealed within this abysmal sunless world.

And for what?

What horrible crime had he committed? What had he done to deserve such treatment?

The answer?

He did what he was created to do. Nothing more, nothing less. He was not born into this world, he was created, and yet those that had made him sealed him away upon realizing just what it was that they had created.

How long had it been?

Within this sunless world, time had no meaning, time did not exist.

_Patt patt patt patt patt._

"_Footsteps? But who? Only she who sealed me can reach these depths."_ He thought.

Looking up, he was able to see a faint point of light, a light so pure and bright that it nearly blinded him. He tried to move forward, but was unable.

"_My chains. I had forgotten they were even there after all this time."_ Moving his head around, he was able to see the faintest glimmer of light reflect upon his bonds.

Each of his arms had at the wrist iron fetters, each of which was bound to the cavern's wall by a length of chain. At first, he had tried to pull free, but upon seeing that it only harmed him, he ceased. How long he had pulled and gnashed at them he did not know, but the scars remained to this day. His feet too were chained. These however were loose enough that he was able to move some, not much, but enough that he could sit should he ever desire.

The last bind was around his neck. It was by far the thickest of the bonds, but this was only because it was the central connection point for all the others.

Unlike the others however, which appeared to be simple iron, this one was adorned with a single bright orange gem at its center.

This stone was the source of his imprisonment, the one thing that kept him at bay. Were it not for that one infernal jewel, he would still be free.

The irony however was that this crystal was also the only thing that kept him alive. After being severed from his power, it sustained him.

One small gem was the source of his misery.

One small gem was the only thing that kept him alive.

One small gem that he knew was the key to his freedom.

The footsteps stopped before him and he looked up.

It was her.

The one who was the cause for his punishment, the one that had sealed him away never to see the light of day, the one whom he had been created to protect.

He could hardly believe his eyes, her face! It was still the same, even after all these years. Even time itself was unable to affect her beauty, at least not to him.

Part of him wanted to lash out to kill her, part of him wanted to reach out just to touch her, and part of him wanted to cower away in shame, to hide himself from her eyes.

He had only done what he was created to do, yet this alone had caused her untold pain.

In her desperation, she had done the only thing she could to preserve his life. She knew that it was not his fault; he was created to serve a purpose, a purpose that few understood.

And even fewer appreciated.

That was why she sealed him away, not to punish him, not to hurt him, but to protect him. To preserve his life.

It hurt her.

The only thing she could do in return for all that he had done for her was bind him, and seal him away to a world of endless darkness and shadow.

She looked up at his slightly taller frame as he looked down at her smaller form.

Both their eyes were filled with pain and regret. But it hurt him to see the one other thing that floated in the deep pools of her eyes.

Fear.

Fear of him. Fear of what he would do if ever freed.

Without a word spoken between either of them, she turned and left. No words were needed; for they both well knew what the other wanted to say, but knew they could not.

Hearing the stone walls close behind her, his head lowered to the ground. Part of him was uplifted to the heavens, while part of him was condemned to the deepest depths.

But every part of his being hurt, hurt with a pain few had ever felt, and even few had survived.

What hurt him the most however was that he knew it was no more and no less than the pain she too felt.

(Narration end)

_POOF_

Kai looked out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but start laughing. Sitting before him was a half red, completely flustered Rondana. It took a few seconds for her to snap out of her daze, but as soon as she did she started looking around frantically.

"Whatch'a looking for?" Kai asked with a grin that put Suzi to shame.

"THE BOOK! Where did it go?!" Rondana shouted getting up and throwing her mattress off the bed as she searched the room.

"Book? What book?" Kai asked using the 'narrator's voice' from earlier.

Rondana froze before turning around slowly to face Kai. "That was another of your illusions?"

Kai nodded.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Rondana shouted as she jumped onto Kai and started strangling him.

"RooDAAAnnnaa lEt gO!" Kai croaked, half from her choking him, half from laughing.

"BRING IT BACK NOW!" She shouted, holding Kai's neck in one hand and her other hand back in a fist that promised much pain.

"I can't. It was never real, I just made it up." Kai said before breaking out into a deep laugh.

Rondana's eyes seemed to glow at this point, looking around frantically. "Well?!"

"Well what?" Kai asked, pausing from his laughing.

"What happened?! Where is the rest of the story?!" Rondana shouted as she continued to shake the poor teen.

"I told you, it wasn't real! I made it up!" Kai shouted before falling back into a fit of laughs.

"TELL ME!" Rondana shouted.

To this Kai just started laughing harder. He had never seen the somewhat shy and timid doctor so desperate, and all over a book? _"Maybe Piper was right. I should try my hand at writing when this is all over. But it will be a cold day in Oblivion before I write anything else like that trash. Think guy thoughts. Skimmer's, football, Nacho's, combat, combat training, training."_

While Kai tried to wash away the 'evil romance novelness' from his system. Rondana continued to shout at him. The two didn't notice that they were no longer alone, sort of.

_Groan_

"Would…you….two…keep…it….down?" A weak voice called out.

Rondana dropped Kai like a rock, who landed with a thud and rushed over to Starling.

"Starling? Can you hear me? Do you feel ok?"

Starling closed her eyes and kept them that way for a few seconds before opening them slowly. "I feel so _yawn_ tired. What happened?" She asked, looking around sleepily.

Kai once again rolled over and slowly pushed himself up, making sure not to put any strain on his ribs before making his way over to his friend.

"Star? You ok?"

Starling chuckled. "Yes….I am….._yawn_..fine. Just a little tired!" Starling yelped when she found herself suddenly engulfed in a fierce hug.

"You scared me half to death Star. I woke up and they said you had been out for three days, then I found out they gave you morphine and then!"

"Slow down Kai. I can hardly understand a word your saying." She said before returning the hug.

A second passed before Starling whispered. "You know Kai…you could really use a shower."

Kai gaped. _"I've spent almost every waking minute of the last two days worrying about her and this is the thanks I get?! Tch, two can play that game."_

Pulling back, Kai grinned. "So could you."

End chapter 5

AN: Ok, so the end was slightly fluffy, but it was simply the case of a close friend worried sick about another close friend. I've had a few people close to me in the hospital, and I ran up and hugged them as soon as I was able to. Keep your friends close, and let them know how important they are to you, you never know when might be the last time. (No, nobody died; I read that in a fortune cookie yesterday and thought it fit with this chapter, cool huh?) Well now everyone's awake, but not quite back to normal. Like I said before, Kai and Starling will be sitting the next terra out as per doctor Rondana's orders. I want to give the other characters a piece of the lime light every now and then. Who knows what will happen on each mission? My muse is being secretive, so not even I do. Anyways, next chapter is going to focus mainly on Starling, and what the heck happened to her in chapter 3. Trust me when I say this, it's something completely original and has never before been done in a Storm Hawks story, or any other story.

Be on the look out for chapter 6:

A Problem Solved! An Even Bigger One Discovered?

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	6. Problem Solved! Bigger One Discovered

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 6: A Problem Solved! An Even Bigger One Discovered?

AN: Ok, I know this story seems to be falling down the hill of suism, but it's for a reason. This story is a smelter of sorts for Kai. After reviewing his designs and what both myself and others had written, I decided that it was time for some changes. Changing him overnight would have been hard to explain, but would have saved time. This way however, I get some great practice in character development and interaction. Oh, and SFC stands for 'Sky Fried Chicken' it's Storm Hawks version of KFC (duh)

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, and this story.

Shadow and Griffy are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to ExNarrator01

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made by and owned by MissDedodakes

Kai was once again on his back, just as he had been for the last two days. However, unlike the last two days, he was now sporting a black eye, and Rondana was holding an ice pack over half his face.

"I really should have seen that one coming." Kai muttered.

Rondana shook her head sadly. "Kai, I don't think there is a soul alive that could have dodged that punch. I've seen her fight before, and when she wants to hit something, she usually does."

Kai sighed. "I didn't mean the literal punch. I mean I should have expected her to react that way, especially after what the rest of reacted to the same news." Kai said closing his uncovered eye.

"_Great job Kai, you might go down in the history books as the worst leader Atmos has ever seen. Rondana's miffed at me, Marina still doesn't, and more than likely never will trust me, Tigger hasn't spoken to me since I woke up, Piper wont look me in the eye anymore, Shadow thinks I look at everyone as being weak or worthless, and now Starling's pissed. Even Radarr and Griffy avoid me now."_

A little over an hour ago, Starling had woken up after her five day long nap. At first she had been tired and wanted to go back to sleep, but Rondana convinced her to try and get up and moving around a bit. She hadn't eaten or moved in five days after all, and her body was beginning to weaken.

So, Marina helped her to the kitchen, and after giving her coffee strong enough to keep the Leviathan awake for a week, started preparing a late lunch/ early dinner. Everything had been going fine until one seemingly harmless question was asked by the resident purplenette Sky Knight.

_Flashback_

Starling was trying to work the creaks out of her neck, when Piper walked into the kitchen.

"Hey! It's good to see you're up. We were starting to get worried."

Starling gave a small smile. "I'm sorry if I worried you. I'm still not sure what happened."

Piper waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're up. Now Tigger can't use the excuse that she's the only pilot to get out of watching Kai." Piper smirked.

Starling looked at Piper blankly. "Watch Kai? Why would he need someone to watch him?"

Piper did a double take. "You mean you didn't notice?"

Starling shook her head.

"Uh, Starling, Kai's not supposed to move until tomorrow. His ribs are still healing."

Starling got an alarmed look on her face. "His ribs are healing? What happened? He seemed ok when I woke up. What happened?"

_Flashback end_

That's were things went down hill.

When Starling found out the extent of Kai's injuries, and, more specifically _how_ he received them, she was less than pleased.

Ok, she was down right pissed.

"Kai, Starling was just…upset, she didn't really mean what she said." Rondana said softly as she replaced the now water filled ice pack with a new one.

"She meant every word Rondana. Starling might not always tell me everything, but she has never lied. She meant every word." Kai said drooping slightly more.

That was another thing, nobody outside of Kai or Starling even knew what really happened. As soon as she found out from Piper what had happened during, and after she blacked out, she stormed into the crew's quarters and closed the hatch behind her. A few minutes passed, the hatch reopened and Starling returned to the kitchen, told Rondana that Kai needed 'a bit of help' and hadn't spoken a word since.

Rondana shook her head again. She knew that what ever had happened between the two, Kai had probably deserved. But at the same time, it probably should have waited at least a day before transpiring. After being worried sick over Starling for two days, worn down by Piper, and having Shadow open a can of old school on him, he was at his mental rope's end. Having Starling berate, and literally nail some sense into him when he was in a weakened stake had probably pushed him over the edge.

Of course she had no way of knowing this; as Kai was doing his statue impression again, keeping everything locked safely behind his mask and walls.

"_Just when Piper finally got through to him. We almost had him!"_ Looking at her patient, Rondana felt a pang of pity for him._ "He was only trying to help. He just didn't know what he was doing. I guess the old saying about good intentions really is true."_

"Rondana…could you….call the others. I…need to speak to them….everyone." Kai said closing his one still open eye.

"Kai, I think you should just relax. You need your rest and." Kai cut her off.

"I know what I'm doing this time. Please, call the others."

Since they had found a small terra, Tigger suggested that they land so that she could do a few spot checks on the ship, just to make sure that it was still in one piece and was in no danger of falling apart.

That, and she was tired, and wanted to sleep. She hadn't slept since leaving the Phoenix Den, too worried about reaching the next location and not trusting the ship to stay together for the night.

Rondana slowly got up, and left the room, knowing that Kai couldn't be persuaded, and wouldn't listen to her no matter what she said.

Five minutes later, Kai heard approaching footsteps, and opened his eye to see the crew file in.

"Well, everyone's here, just like you asked." Rondana said with a half smile. She didn't know what Kai had in mind, but she knew that more than likely, it was something big, given the circumstances.

"Thanks Rondana." Kai said before looking at the others.

Taking a deep breath, Kai begin.

"I….I know that I haven't exactly been…a good leader so far into this mission." Pausing for a second, he watched for any reactions, not expecting anything in the way of reassurance, but surprised at the lack of any reaction at all, he continued.

"I don't know much about leading, but I know that if a squadron does not respect their leader, does not trust their leader, or holds any…resentment towards them, they will fail no matter how good they are."

Seeing that Piper was going to speak, Kai continued. "Not that I don't think all of you are capable of keeping your professional and personal lives separate, but it is difficult for a leader to lead when they know their squadron holds little, if any confidence in them. That is why effective immediately, I will no longer be in charge of this mission."

"Have you completely lost your mind!? Kai! You're the only one that even known's what the heck is going on!"

Kai let out a dry chuckle. "If its one thing I learned from the Council, a leader can be completely clueless as to what is going on and still lead. When I'm cleared by Rondana, I will be taking over as pilot and mission specialist. I trust that you can decide who is best suited to lead between yourselves. Whoever is chosen, I will support to the best of my abilities."

"If this is another of your pity fiascos, I'll break what ribs you have left." Marina said narrowing her eyes.

Kai shook his head. "It's not pity. I'm just not cut out for the whole leader thing. None of you think I am either, and don't deny it."

"You have to start somewhere Kai. Nobody is a born leader, even if they have a knack for it, it takes time and practice."

Kai looked over to Rondana with a small, thankful smile. "I am aware of that. But I also know that no amount of practice or experience will make me a leader. It's just not who I am. Besides, even if I did have it, we don't have the time for that now. For this mission to have any chance of success, it needs a leader that is trusted, respected, and who can actually lead."

"And what will you do?"

Kai was surprised to hear Starling speak to him. He was sure that she would have just listened to what he had to say and leave.

"I will do whatever I am ordered to do. Speak, remain silent, fight, trail blaze, it doesn't really matter. I'm just a squadie now." Kai said stone faced.

"That is all, I can't really dismiss you anymore, but I have nothing else to say or add."

Most of the others left at that point, but Rondana looked back at the still floor bound teen.

"Are you sure about this?"

Kai closed his eye. "I think it's the best thing I've done since this whole mess began."

Rondana shook her head sadly and followed the others back to the kitchen.

"So, who takes over until Kai feels like digging out of his hole?" Marina asked leaning back.

"I don't think this is something temporary." Starling said taking her own seat.

Seeing that the discussion was heading into murky waters, Piper steered it away.

"I think that Starling should take over."

Everyone turned to her.

"That sure was quick. And here I thought you would be fighting for him to keep command." Marina said quirking an eyebrow.

"What's done is done, if Kai wants to step down it's his choice. Aerrow has stepped down from command on a few occasions because sometimes he's not the best one suited for a mission. It doesn't mean Kai's throwing a pity feast for himself, he's just doing what he thinks is best for the missions success." Piper said frowning.

"I don't think I will be in any shape to command anything other than a pillow for the next few days Piper. I'm sorry but I must decline.

"Hey! Aerrow's ordered us around when he couldn't even walk, you can do the same." Shadow said remembering a few occasions when their 'fearless leader' had been….indisposed but still remained in command.

Shrugging her shoulders, Marina spoke up. "I can take over until you're up to it. I trust Piper, and if she chose you out of the six of us, she must have a reason."

"I don't see any problem with that. Kurk lets Aladd lead the Rock Heart's whenever he gets hurt or is away. Besides, it's not like Shadow, Piper or me will be leading this thing." Tigger said pushing up her glasses.

"Hey!"

"Well it's true! I'm a mechanic, and even though I've lead a few missions, it was only when I knew more about what was going on than the others. You're a fighter, not a leader Shadow, and I don't think you even want to lead."

"Doesn't mean you have to say it like that." Shadow said pouting.

"And we need Piper for information and navigation. She's got enough on her mind without worrying about who does what. Between the seven of us, Rondana, Starling, and Marina are the only ones that have any experience with leading, and even if she wanted to be in charge, which I highly doubt, Rondana's our medic."

"Tigger's right. I walked away from all that years ago, and I have no desire to lead this mission. I am happy with what I am doing now." Rondana said sipping her drink.

"Well? How about it? Feel like giving command another go?" Marina asked Starling.

Looking around and seeing that everyone was looking at her, Starling sighed. "It has been a very long time since I had command of a squadron for any length of time. I fear that I'm not the best choice for this, but if you think I am, I will try my best."

Marina smiled. "Alright then. As soon as you're back on your feet you'll be in charge, and until then, I'll keep your seat warm."

Starling shook her head trying hard not to smile, but did anyway. "Alright, now that we have that out of the way can we eat? I haven't had anything for almost a week."

"Oh! My turn! My turn!" Shadow jumped up and grabbed Tigger by the arm. "Come on! We'll make a real squad dinner!" She said laughing.

Rondana watched as Tigger and Shadow worked the kitchen, Marina and Starling began discussing what they knew about the others to try and figure out exactly how they were going to lead the mission. Turning to the corner of the room, she wasn't too surprised to see Piper off to herself.

The bluenette was stroking Radarr's fur as the Sky Monkey laid on her lap half asleep.

"You ok Piper?" She asked moving beside her.

"Huh? Oh, hey Rondana. I'm hanging in there." She said moving her hand under Radarr's chin to give it a good scratching.

Radarr growled in approval as he turned his head upwards to allow her better reach.

"What's wrong?"

Piper looked up at Rondana with a confused face, causing the medic to scoff.

"Oh come on. How is it you people keep forgetting that I can read any person like a book? I'm a doctor, I get paid to do it, the better I am at it, the more I get paid. I've got it down to an art, so don't even try with me." She said reaching over to scratch Radarr's ears.

"I'm just….a little worried, that's all."

Rondana nodded her head. "Understandable. But may I ask what it is in particular that has you worried?"

Piper looked slightly uncomfortable, and peaked over Rondana's head to the others, just to check if they were listening. Seeing that they weren't, she spoke.

"I know Starling's a good leader, and so is Marina, but I just can't shake the felling that it's wrong for anyone else other than Kai to be in charge. This was…no, this _is_ his mission, he knows more about what is going on than we do, and has more experience in dealing with this sort of thing."

Rondana nodded. "True, true, all true. However, what Kai said is also true. If a squadron has no trust, faith, or confidence in their leader, they won't work very well together."

"But we DO trust Kai, we do have faith in him, we have confidence in him, he must know that! Not even he is _that_ thick headed or dense." Piper said in a harsh whisper. She couldn't help but notice Rondana's head lower slightly, and her expression change ever so slightly.

"Do you really think so? Piper, look around, and tell me what you see."

Raising her head slightly, Piper saw Tigger and Shadow laughing as they prepared the crews meal. Looking to the other side of the room, she saw the serious, but attentive face of Starling nodding as she listened to Marina describe what she knew about the others, as well as her own skills. All in all, she had to admit they seemed….pleasant.

Lowering her head and slumping her shoulders, Piper sighed.

"Piper, what you are feeling is the result of yesterday. You had a very close and very deep discussion with Kai. He told you things that I doubt he has told another living soul, even Starling."

Looking at the medic, Piper had a confused expression on her face. "Why would that affect me?"

Rondana smiled. "It's hard not to side with someone after they bare their soul to you. But you're not alone. Tigger and myself both agree, we're just abiding by Kai's wishes."

Looking back at Radarr, Piper frowned. "But we're not the ones that matter."

Rondana's smile grew slightly as she spoke. "Not necessarily. Kai has depended on myself and Tigger quite a bit in the last year, and he did trust you enough to open up."

"But what about them. He doesn't know Marina that well yet, but Shadow and Starling were…they were his closest friends. I…we can't fill in for them."

Removing her hand from Radarr, and ignoring his growl of disapproval, Rondana spoke.

"I know that, and so does he. Fortunately, I don't think it will come to that. He messed up pretty bad, but there is always the chance that it can be salvaged, repaired, and rebuilt. Friendships are like machines, not people. True, the do mature, grow up, and change as time passes, but they never truly die. They can always be repaired as long as both parties are willing."

"And if they are not?" Piper asked as her hand stopped moving.

"Then they remain broken." Rondana said going back over to the table.

"What do you think Radarr?" She asked sadly. She was surprised to see the Sky Monkey actually think it over then motion his head to the door, before getting up and walking over to his food bowl.

"Thanks Radarr." She said lowering her head as she got up and grabbed two plates of food.

"_Come on Arygyn, now's about time for you to show up and start with the whole 'how could you get any stupider' speech."_

Seeing the door open, Kai snorted. "Right on schedule Arya…Piper?"

Smiling the bluenette hefted the two plates of food. "I thought you might be hungry, so."

"You drew the short straw again huh?"

Piper's smile faltered when she reached his spot on the floor.

"No, I wanted to do this. Kai you need to stop looking at things so negatively all the time." Seeing him settle in for what he assumed would be another tongue lashing, she felt her smile drop even more.

"I'm not here to fight, if that's what you're expecting." Piper said as she helped him sit up so he could eat.

Looking away, Kai spoke. "Sorry, but I've come to expect that as of late, not that I don't deserve it."

"Kai, can't we just eat? Is it really that hard to believe that?" She stopped speaking when Kai removed the ice pack from his face.

"Yes, yes it is." He said calmly before reaching out and taking one of the plates from her hands, and using the fork provided, started eating.

"Tigger made this didn't she?" He asked after the first bite of spaghetti.

Piper laughed. "How did you know that from just one bite?"

"I've stayed with the Rock Hearts plenty of times. I know her mothers recipe when I taste it. It's the only one that uses chili pepper." He said with a small smile.

The two ate in silence after that. Though worried at first, Piper remembered something that Starling had told her long ago, and was thankful that she had remembered it.

_Flashback_

"Starling? Why don't you join us? I mean you stop by practically every other week. Why not just make it official?" Piper asked as the Sky Knight climbed aboard her skimmer.

Starling smiled sadly. "Piper, I don't think I will ever be able to join a squadron again. Too many memories, too many….regrets. This is about as close as I can do now."

Piper looked confused, and asked another question, this time without thinking. "Then what's the point? If you're not going to join us, why do you keep coming by to visit?" Eyes widening, she was about to continue, but Starling held up her hand.

"No Piper, I am not offended, and don't feel like you've overstepped yourself. It's a perfectly natural question." Seeing the relieved look on the young girls face, she continued. "Sometimes it's better to say nothing, and do nothing with people around you than to do so alone. I might not show it, or say it often, but I really do appreciate your company, all of you."

Piper smiled. "Even Finn?"

Laughing as she cut on the Red Streak's engines, Starling replied. "Yes, even Finn."

_Flashback end_

"Whew, that was good Tigger, I think we make a good team." Shadow said as she dropped her fork.

"Meh, it was ok." Marina said mildly.

"Oh? Then why did you take five plates worth?" Tigger asked with a laugh as she pointed at the pile of plates with her fork.

"I was hungry?" Marina offered with a grin.

Starling tried to get up, but was stopped by Rondana. "Take it easy, remember, your still recuperating. Don't strain yourself."

"I'm fine Rondana. I just need a little more rest."

Shadow scrunched up her nose at this.

Clearing her throat, she turned to the Sky Knight. "Not to be mean or anything, but uh, could you take a shower first?" Seeing everyone now staring at her, she went on the defensive.

"What? She hasn't had one in like, a week, not even Radarr goes that long, and my bunks next to hers so I have every right to complain." She said pinching her nose.

Starling chuckled and shook her head. "To tell you the truth, some hot water would feel nice."

Rondana nodded and helped her up. "You go ahead; I'll grab your things."

Starling thanked to teen medic and headed to the restroom.

When Rondana arrived in the quarters, she was surprised to find Piper sitting silently by Kai's head. Neither one seemed to have spoken in a while, nor did they appear to be close to starting a conversation anytime soon.

Walking past the two, she went over to Starling's trunk and pulled out whatever she thought might be needed.

Piper looked up at hearing the sound, and saw Rondana motion towards Kai with her head and mouth _try talking to him_ before leaving.

"_Talk to him? What on Atmos about? It's not like we have any common ground."_ Looking down she caught sight of her crystal necklace. _"Or do we?"_

"Kai?"

The older teen moved his head to look at Piper, and it actually hurt her, what she saw.

"_He looks like he's dying. Whatever Starling said to him must have cut deeper than I thought."_

"Hm?"

Giving a gentle smile, Piper pulled her crystal necklace off and held her hand out to him.

Kai looked down at the crystal then back up to Piper more than just a little confused.

"Piper? What are you?"

"You told me that you could sense and change crystals right?"

Kai remembered glossing over that detail yesterday, after she had asked what abilities he shared with Lark.

"Yes, that is correct. What do you want me to do?"

"Tell me what you can sense from mine. Aerrow found it on terra Lyn and gave it to me ages ago. I was just wondering if…maybe…you know?"

It took Kai a second, but he figured out what she was asking.

"_There's no way that's a rare or Ancient's crystal, she must want me to….but why?"_

"Piper….are you sure that you want me to do that? It's….kind of personal."

Of course Marina chose now to enter.

"Oh? And just what are you two up to?" Marina asked teasingly.

Kai and Piper both glared at the older woman.

"She wants me to feel the crystal. It's…a skill I have. If a person has strong emotions flowing through them, and they touch a crystal, it leaves behind an imprint that some people can feel and read." Kai explained.

"Hmmm mind if I watch?" Marina asked leaning against the doorway.

Kai shrugged his shoulders. "It's nothing special."

Taking hold of the crystal in one hand, Kai reached for his hilt, only to feel cloth.

"Where's my staff?" He asked looking around slightly worried.

Piper jumped up. "Oh, we put it with our stuff, hang on a sec, I'll get it."

Getting up she went over to her and Rondana's locker, and opened it.

Starling hated this.

She was an adult, she was a Sky Knight, and she was one of the strongest warriors on the face of Atmos.

She had infiltrated Cyclonia and remained undercover as one of Lark's personal body guards for over a month, she had battled, and held off both Lark and Dark Ace, and she had even tricked Reption into giving her back her squadron's shield, while at the same time delivering some long overdue reattribution.

Yet she couldn't dry her own hair.

It's sad what a week of inactivity would do to a person.

Rondana had a towel in hand and was ruffling the older woman's hair dry. She was surprised by the woman's strength and the power of her will, needing help only with one tiny thing. She had seen people go through less, and need more help than this.

Once finished she stepped back and noticed something.

"I didn't know you were into crystals."

Starling looked at her like she had grown a second head.

"What?" _"Why on Atmos would she think that? I use crystals, I don't collect them."_

"Oh, never mind. I just thought that…well, you know. That necklace is very pretty, I thought that maybe it was your favorite or something." Rondana said, slightly embarrassed.

"Necklace? Oh this." Starling's hand went to her neck. She had actually forgotten about it. Since it was under her clothes, it didn't move and she rarely ever even saw it.

"May I see it?" Rondana asked, indicating the necklace.

Starling shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the thin gold chain. Just as she was about to lift it however, a memory jumped to the front of her mind.

_Flashback_

"This is the last thing I can do for you. Whatever happens, do not, I repeat, do not, for any reason remove this once you put it on, and make sure that it stays in contact with your skin at all times." He said holding it out for her to take.

_Flashback end_

Starling let go of the chain and moved her hand away from it as though she had been shocked.

"Hey Starling you ok?" Rondana asked, nothing but concern was visible on her face.

Starling shook her head and closed her eyes tightly. "I'm sorry, but I can't take it off."

Rondana was puzzled by her sudden actions. _"She's been fine up until now. What's with the sudden change?"_ Eyes drifting back down slightly, she noticed that Starling had gripped the crystal tightly in her hand.

"Can…can I see the crystal? I promise I won't even take it out of your hand, I just want to see it."

Starling opened her eyes and bit her lip before nodding her head and opening her hand slowly.

Kai sat propped up with his back to a wall, and pulled his Shadow crystal out from its slot in the center chamber of his staff.

Piper took the opportunity to get a good look at the crystal. She had never seen it before, and Kai hadn't been very descriptive about it.

It was strange, but at the same time it wasn't. The crystal looked almost identical to the one on her necklace, but was about half the length and was slightly thinner. It was a hexagonal crystal, and had obviously been polished smooth after many, many years of use. It was strange however in that it had no shine. There was no reflection anywhere on its surface, almost as though it was absorbing the light.

"Alright, as long as you don't mind me seeing whatever was going through your when it was touched." Kai said closing his eyes.

He felt for the river of energy, and focused on just a tiny handful.

Piper and Marina watched as the jet black crystal glowed with a soft grayish light, and then noticed something odd. It was only for a second, but they both caught it.

A flicker of purple.

"AHHH!"

Kai blinked his eyes open, startled by the shout. When he looked around he saw that Piper was getting up and Marina, who had been by the door was now gone.

"What was that?!" Kai shouted.

"I don't know, but it was coming from the bathroom!" Piper shouted as she ran out the door.

Marina arrived first, and were it not for her years of being a thief, would have missed the tiny flash of grey out of the corner of her sight.

"What happened?" She shouted looking for an attacker of some sort.

All she saw was Rondana holding up a rather shaken, towel wrapped Starling, who was leaning against the wall.

"I don't know! She was fine one minute, the next she slipped and almost fell on her face!" The medic shouted.

"Come on, let's get her back to the quarters. Whatever is wrong with her we have to figure out now." Marina shouted running back into the other room, and almost over Piper.

"What happened?!"

"Starling had another attack. It wasn't a bad one, and it only lasted a second, but with her in a weakened state it had a stronger effect." Rondana said as she helped the older woman reach the quarters.

"What's going on? Who, or what was that?" Kai asked, confused and more than just a little worried.

"No time now, lay down." Marina shouted as she grabbed a quilt from her trunk and tossed it over Kai.

"What the?! What are you doing?!" Kai shouted as the redhead pushed him back.

"Starling had another episode and Rondana needs to examine her. This is the only room with a bed." She said flatly.

Kai paled.

"Is she ok? What happened?"

Marina cut him off with a shove to the ground.

"I don't know but the sooner we get her in here the better chance we have of figuring out."

Kai stilled and was silent.

Kai listened through the thick quilt as best he could. Shadow had come back to see what was going on, but she had been kicked out and ordered to keep out until further notice. The only other thing he could hear was Rondana mumble about how she couldn't see anything wrong.

"This makes no sense. Why would she be fine one minute and falling another?" Marina asked with furrowed brows.

"I don't know. She was fine when she showed me the crystal, then….then this." Rondana said shaking her head.

"Wait a minute. Crystal? Starling doesn't have any crystals other than the ones in her weapons." Piper said, trying to remember if she had ever seen any others on her before.

Rondana shook her head. "She has one, but she seems to be very attached to it. She wouldn't even let me hold it."

Rondana parted the top of Starling's towel just a little so that a thin gold chain could be seen around the top of her neck.

"What does it look like?" Piper asked. Something was off. She had never seen or even heard Starling say anything about crystals in the past.

Rondana thought for a minute before speaking.

"It looks a lot like yours, only it's dark purple, and a bit smaller."

"Purple?" Marina repeated.

Marina thought back to what had just happened a few minutes ago with Kai.

"_I saw a flash of purple course through his Shadow crystal when he tried to feel Piper's…and I know I saw a grey light in the bathroom…Din's mercy!"_

Marina's head shot up, and with a confident voice, she spoke.

"I know what it is."

All heads turned towards her as she walked over to the still covered Kai.

"Kai, I need you to do that…thing you were trying to do with Piper's crystal a few minutes ago."

"What? What about Starling? Is she ok? What happened?" Kai's muffled voice called out.

"She's unconscious, but I think I figured out the problem, now do what I told you to NOW!"

Even though he was under a thick quilt, the others saw Kai jump up.

"Ok ok!" Reaching into his pocket he retrieved the two crystals and concentrated.

Sure enough, exactly what Marina thought would happen, did.

_Groan_

"Kai stop now!" Kai snapped his eyes open and saw Starling roll to her side in pain.

What happened?!" What's going on?! TELL ME **NOW!"**

Seeing Starling's condition worse, Marina knew her suspicion was true.

"Amp down Kai! It's you! It's your crystal! You're hurting her!" Marina shouted.

Kai looked like somebody had just shot him with one of the Condor's cannons.

Dropping to his knees, he opened his hands and let go of the two crystals.

"I….no…no I don't…it couldn't have been me. I've been using it for years and she was never affected before." Kai was momentarily lost in thought, but it only lasted for a few seconds.

His nose twitched, and his face dropped into a deep frown.

"Fraid she's right."

Kai barred his teeth and his frown changed to a scowl as he turned to the doorway.

"Arygyn, this has your stench all over it. What. Did. You. Do?" Kai demanded.

The green haired man shook his head sadly as he walked in.

"I save your life, hers, and the rest of this crew of yours twice over and this is the thanks I get?"

Kai stormed up to the green haired man and grabbed him by the fringes of his vest before slamming his back into the wall.

"WHAT DID YOOU DO TO HER!"

"I just told you. I saved her life, and yours you ungrateful little gimp. Along with the rest of them."

Kai's scowl was quickly becoming more and more feral. He almost didn't notice Piper gently grab hold of his wrist.

"Kai, let him down. If you kill him, then we won't know what is wrong with Starling." Piper said softly.

Truthful, she had no doubt that Arygyn was letting Kai do as he pleased. She knew how powerful the man was, and knew that the only reason Kai wasn't out cold, or chewing a mouthful of floor was because Arygyn didn't want him to. At the same time, she wanted to know just what was going on. Starling was her best friend other than Aerrow, and her big sister figure after all.

With one last growl, Kai dropped Arygyn and took one step back. "Speak. Now." He said between clinched teeth.

Brushing off his vest, Arygyn got straight to the point for once.

"I anchored you to her." He said simply.

"You what?" Piper asked in confusion.

"I anchored Kai to Starling. He wouldn't listen to me, and it was the only thing I could do to keep him from going supernova."

Marina shook her head. "Ok, I'm lost. Please, for her sake, just tell us what is going on. I think Kai's about to have a heart attack or stroke from his blood pressure alone."

Popping a creak out of his neck, Arygyn became completely professional.

"The Shadow crystal was not meant to be used as frequently as Kai has been using it. It was designed to be used in the event of an emergency to prevent, or stop large scale conflict. Not to be used like a common striker crystal."

"Why did you involve Starling?" Piper asked, knowing what part in the explanation Kai wanted to get to.

"I had to connect him to an energy user. Otherwise it would have killed whoever he was anchored to instantly. That left Sky Knights or Cyclonian generals."

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU ANCHOR ME TO A CYCLONIAN!" Kai roared.

Arygyn narrowed his eyes. "Mind your voice _boy_. I couldn't anchor you to just anyone, it had to be someone that would willingly anchor you. An enemy would have let you go and an acquaintance would have been unable to hold up for too long. It had to be a close friend."

Kai was nearly seething with anger. The only thing holding him back was quite literally Piper.

Or rather her freakish Amazon strength.

"You still didn't answer my first question. Why did you do this to begin with?" Piper asked, trying to keep Kai calm.

"I had no choice. Boy Blunder over there ignored my warnings and continued using the Shadow crystal to the point that it's begun to break down and destabilize. If I didn't anchor him, the Shadow crystal would have fractured and released all its energy." Arygyn said glaring at Kai.

"Wait a minute; wouldn't that prevent Kai from abusing it anymore?" Marina asked confused.

"Oh, sure, yeah, that's true. He wouldn't be able to use it anymore. Of course he and every living thing within Cyclonian boarders would have been fried instantly, not to mention the area would have become a fallout zone incapable of supporting life for the next two hundred years." Arygyn said dryly.

Piper, Marina and Rondana all turned towards Kai and stared at the small black crystal in his hand with more than just a little fear in there eyes.

"Don't worry, as long as Starling is breathing, and knuckle head doesn't use it often, preferably at all, it should remain mostly stable." Arygyn said smugly.

Swallowing, Piper asked another question, one that was bugging her since Arygyn arrived.

"But why now? Why not earlier? If she's been anchoring him, shouldn't she have shown signs of fatigue earlier?"

Arygyn smiled.

"She has been. Didn't any of you notice how much she's been sleeping lately? The only reason she's in pain now is because Kai just about drained every last ounce of juice she's got. Besides, it's not like he's channeling her power, its just being used to keep his in check, hence being called an anchor."

Thinking back, Piper did notice that when he fought the Virage, Kai's energy field did seem to have a lot of purple mixed in with it, compared to back at the arena, when it had been mostly black with some dark red streaks.

"How long?"

Everyone turned to Kai.

"How long what?"

Kai glared at Arygyn. "How long ago did you set the anchor point?"

Arygyn smirked. "The same day you met up with Piper and Shadow."

"So you're telling us, that Kai has been draining Starling of her power for over two weeks now?" Marina asked as she reached for her blade hilts. _"Why didn't he tell us he was doing this? Better yet, why didn't Starling? Unless…she didn't even know."_

"No, Kai has not been draining her for over two weeks. It's only when he uses the crystal."

Piper looked up, having figured out what was going on.

"She's been so tired because Kai was using the crystal so frequently, which would mean that it was destabilizing at an accelerated rate. That would mean it was taking more power to keep it in one piece, which in turn drained her even fast." Her eyes then widened. "The Virage! It had reached critical mass by the time Kai used it, that's why she collapsed in pain, she had only her reserves left since Kai wasn't giving her a chance to recharge!"

Kai's shoulders drooped and his entire being seemed to sag at this point.

"So that means I can't use it anymore without putting her at serious risk." He said punching the wall behind him.

Rondana, who had never met Arygyn, approached him wearily, having heard many horror stories about him from both Kai and Marina.

"Will Starling be ok? Or will she continue to weaken?"

Arygyn smiled softly. "As long as angry boy over there doesn't use the Shadow crystal, she'll be completely fine, and won't even know something's amiss." He said confidently.

Kai closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Congratulations Arygyn, looks like you won after all." Kai said as he left the room.

"Did I miss something?" Rondana asked confused.

"I've been trying to get Kai to stop using the crystal for over a year now, but he never listened. I had hoped that he would see it as a tool to use when needed, not become dependent on it like a drug." Arygyn said sadly.

"But why didn't you just outright tell him what was happening?"

Everyone, including Arygyn turned in surprise at the voice.

"Starling? How long have you been awake?" Rondana asked shoving Arygyn out of the way to reach her patient.

Starling swatted away Rondana's hand and fixed Arygyn with her full power glare. Though not frightened by it, Arygyn had to admit it was impressive.

"I never told him because I never thought he would have completely abandoned everything else he had learned in favor of the crystal. As hard as he drilled himself, and as many hours as he spent in training, I thought he was well on his way down the right path. I'll admit that I was mistaken, but I'm doing everything I can to fix it now."

Starling narrowed her eyes at this.

"_He's lying. What he said about the crystal may be true, but the rest was only a half truth. He knew Kai's nature; he withheld that information on purpose."_

"So I'm a living battery now correct?"

Arygyn moved his head from side to side slowly before answering. "Technically you're more of a safety net or a rope. You're not fueling the crystal itself, nor are you repairing it. You're simply holding it together like a roll of duct tape."

"And I assume this is the reason you told me not to remove the necklace after putting it on, and to keep it under my clothes no?"

Grinning, Arygyn answered. "Close but no cigar. I didn't want it getting snagged, or for 'you-know-who' to see it. It would have made things….difficult, I'm sure you can understand."

Starling pulled herself up slowly, and after securing her towel approached Arygyn.

_SLAM_

Pulling back her fist, Starling glared at the green haired man.

"Next time you connect me to someone, in ANY way; it had better be with my EXPRESSED knowledge and consent. Otherwise your next stop will be a deep fryer and SFC bucket with coleslaw on the side." Turning to the others, she nodded and left the room, and returned to the restroom.

"Oh well, everyone's a critic these days. I best be off. Tell Kai I said hi, and try not to mope too much, especially when he's flying in a ship full of girls, people will think something's wrong with him." Arygyn said grinning before disappearing down the hall.

"GET BACK HERE YOU! GRRR" Marina growled when she reached the door and found no trace of the green menace.

"I swear, one of these days, I will get him." Marina muttered under her breath.

Piper chuckled. "I think you'll have to get in line. Starling and Kai both seem to be on the waiting list already." Saying his name however, jogged one detail she had nearly forgotten about.

"Um, does anyone know where Kai went?" She asked looking around the room.

Marina held up her hands. "Sorry, but he can't have gone far, it's not like this is a cruse ship."

Rondana tapped her chin in thought. "Based on how he's acted in the past, I would expect to find him in the kitchen."

Piper had a slightly troubled look on her face as she left the room, one that Marina caught before she hid it, and shot Rondana a confused one of her own.

"She's worried about him, nothing unusual. She's the closest thing to a mother the Storm Hawk's have, it's just in her nature." Rondana said before motioning to Starling and Kai's mutual beds. "Could you give me a hand with these? I've wanted to replace them for a while now, but I had to wait till they moved."

Marina shrugged her shoulders, having nothing better to do, and went to work in replacing the bedding.

Piper poked her head into the kitchen, and found her quarry putting the top piece of bread on a rather large sandwich.

"Hungry much?" She joked.

Kai looked up at her, then grabbed his jumbo sandwich and headed to the table.

"I haven't had much for the last few days. You girls don't seem to favor meaty recipes." Kai said taking a large bite.

"Well, we do have to watch our weight, besides its not like you gave us much to work with." Piper shot back.

Kai raised an eyebrow and gave Piper the once over, noticing, but ignoring her slightly pink cheeks.

"Watch your weight? I've got toolboxes that weigh more than you do. What are you? Seventy five? Seventy six pounds?" Kai asked taking another bite.

"Piper's cheeks reddened slightly more.

"I'm seventy three thank you very much." She said crossing her arms.

Kai shook his head and took another large bite, much to Piper's chagrin.

"How you can eat that much is beyond me. Any girl would kill to be able to do that."

Kai shook his head. "I call it food of freedom." He said raising his glass with a fake grin.

"Hmp, more like suicide by salami." She said under her breath.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be you know." Kai said plainly.

"What? Being able to eat whatever you want whenever you want?"

"No, having a fast metabolism. It means you're always hungry, and you burn through vitamins and other stuff really fast."

"So? You just eat and it goes away." Piper said pulling out a small salad and sitting across from Kai, not able to ignore the fact that she was still hungry after the small helping of spaghetti she had earlier.

Seeing the salad, Kai scowled. "Man, would you quite with the rabbit food? It seriously gets on my nerves."

Piper herself was now sporting a small scowl. "Hey, not all of us eat like a starving wolf." She said taking a small bite.

Rolling his eye's Kai spoke again. "I have a reason, you don't."

"Oh yeah? What is it? I told you, I'm watching my weight."

"I told you already, it's my metabolism. My body burns iron extremely fast, so I have to eat a lot of meat. I don't even really like it, I just have no choice."

"_Well that explains his vampirish lust for the stuff."_ "If you don't like meat, why do you eat it like that? You could always eat other things, or just take supplements." Piper said stabbing her salad.

Kai swallowed another chunk of the sandwich before speaking. "If I have no other choice, I might as well enjoy it. Besides, supplements don't fill your stomach." Seeing Piper continue with her salad Kai got up and went back to the fridge.

"Still hungry?" Piper jibbed.

"Not for me." Kai said dropping a much smaller, but still fairly large sandwich in front of Piper. "Eat."

Piper looked up with a frown. "I told you, I'm"

"Watching my weight." Kai parroted. "Look, dieting makes you skinny, not healthy."

"Like I'm going to take health tips from you? You practically try to get yourself killed on a daily basis." Piper flinched at Kai's expression.

"No, I do not _try_ to get myself killed; I _try _to do my job. And I know plenty about being healthy for your information. As you have pointed out, I spend more time in the infirmary than any other person alive aside from Finn. I've read hundreds of wall posters, and had to endure Rondana's health speech torture program for the last year."

"_So that's why he's immune to nagging. He built up a resistance when Rondana tried to get him to open up."_

"Your body needs food to survive. It's a miracle that you haven't snapped every bone in your body yet."

"Ok, stop with the jab's at my size. I'm small, nothing wrong with that."

Kai fell back in his seat. "No, but there is a problem when you can slip out of a pair of handcuff's without even picking them. Try working out instead of starving yourself."

It was then that Piper realized that Kai was up to his old tricks again and was changing the subject before she even had a chance to start.

"_Alright, two can play at that game."_ Piper thought with a smirk. "Fine, I'll give it a try. But only if you stop acting like a kicked puppy and get over yourself."

"I'm not mopping, I'm sulking. There's a big difference." Kai defended. Seeing Piper's disapproving look, he continued.

"Hey, I just found out that I've been causing my best friend pain that was strong enough to make her black out. In addition to finding out Arygyn saved my life twice, which is like being saved by Finn's music."

Piper flinched at that part. After Polaris Point, Finn had taken it upon himself to remind everyone of just how they had managed to succeed in the mission, and even to this day it still stung. But she continued to listen to Kai's rant, knowing from Rondana that he wouldn't listen to anything she said until he finished.

"And having to accept that I am now completely useless on this team. How would you feel in my shoes? Hmm?"

Piper looked down at the side of the seat Kai was sitting in. "First of all, you're not wearing any shoes." She said with a smirk. "Secondly, I can understand being upset over hurting your friend. But why do you think that you're useless? Kai you've had more training than my whole squadron put together!"

Kai sunk slightly at that rebuttal.

"What good it a melee fighter that isn't a Wallop?"

Piper was now confused, confused and growing very tired of Kai's little routine. True, she had figured it out, but it was exhausting to put up with and try and fight. She did however acknowledge the skill it took to make.

"Kai, that's an insult to my entire squad aside from Finn."

Shaking his head, Kai leaned forward. "No, it's not. Your entire squad other than Finn has energy weapons. Even if you use them for melee, you can at least fire them when you need to. A pure melee fighter is useless if their not a Wallop."

Piper furrowed her brow. "You can shoot. I saw you do it at the arena. Just because you can't use the Shadow crystal doesn't mean you don't have others to use, and even if it did, I can let you borrow some of mine. No big."

Kai shook his head. "Don't you remember what happened at the arena?"

Thinking back, Piper recalled the massive battle. It was true that Kai hadn't used many ranged attacks, which made his statement even more confusing, but aside from that, nothing stood out.

Closing his eyes, Kai's face fell into his palms. "I used the Shadow crystal to make wave attacks."

"_Wave attacks? Yeah, so what, I know they were effective, and that it would take a while to adjust to having to actually aim, but Kai shouldn't have any real trouble unless….oh."_

Looking up, Kai saw Piper's face fall slightly in understanding.

"How bad is it?" She asked, not looking him in the eye.

Sighing, Kai answered. "I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with one of the Condor's cannons."

Piper flinched and shook her head, now getting the picture.

"_He didn't use wave attacks because they were effective; he used them because his aim stinks."_ Thinking back, she didn't recall seeing Starling use many ranged attacks herself. With the only expections being when they were surrounded, or fighting something very, very large.

"_Hmmm, so that means she probably has a low accuracy as well. She's just lucky enough to have a special move that makes a shockwave. Kai's was just a blast if memory serves. This could be a problem."_

"You just need to practice and adapt. I doubt Starling's aim is much better, so the two of you could help each other." Piper offered.

Kai mulled the idea over before speaking. "It's not like I have much choice. No Shadow crystal means I'm next to useless, might as well not be completely useless." Kai shrugged.

"OW! What was that for?!" Kai shouted as he pulled back his freshly stomped foot.

"For insulting ninety percent of the population. I don't have any powers, and neither does any other squaddie or Sky Knight. In fact, you just insulted Starling, Suzi, and Shadow, who according to you are your best friends!"

Kai's scowl dropped to a frown, and his shoulders slumped. "Look, I'm sorry alright, I'm just not used to…being…normal. I haven't been for a while and I had just started getting used to it."

Piper gave him a comforting smile before getting up. "Just don't forget that you _are_ human, just the same as Lark, Aerrow, myself, and unfortunately, Harrier."

Kai laughed slightly before dragging himself up. "I think Starling had the right idea. You girls get your room back tonight, I'm going to clean up and sleep in my chair. I just hope Tigger didn't adjust it." He said with false anger.

Piper nodded her head and left, leaving Kai to himself.

"_Well, nothing else I can do till we get there. Looks like I've got to start training again. Yippe skipy."_ Kai thought dryly.

End Chapter 6

AN: Ok, to clear things up a bit, no, Kai has not lost his powers; they are still there, for now. What happened was Kai overused the Shadow crystal, and to compensate Arygyn connected Kai to Starling, and has her energy acting as a safety belt to keep Kai's power in check. Normally, if Kai used it, Starling would feel a slight drain, hence why she is tired in all the chapters that occurred at the same time as him using it. Use it too much, and you saw the results.

I don't think the chapter came out as good as I had hoped, especially since it took me four days to write, sorry if it seemed a bit cliché, but I wanted the readers to get a feel for exactly what the team has to work with as early as possible, and make Kai more user friendly. At the moment, he's not likely to use his powers, so other authors (that have my permission) can write him without worrying about them. The part towards the end with the food was not a P.S.A by the way. I just happened to realize that in the past I have portrayed Kai as being a fan of eating food, while Piper is a bit…scrawny. If the two are to become friends, they have to have some common ground worked out.

Well, I hope the chapter was at least tolerable, the next one will be the first part of the next terra adventure! So look out for:

Chapter 7: Flight of the Fearsome Foursome!


	7. Flight of the Fearsome Foursome!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 7: Flight of the Fearsome Foursome!

AN: Alright, this is the second time my muse took me for a wild ride. I had no intentions of focusing on this chapter's star character to begin with; it just seemed to flow with the story's progress. Personally, I think this is the best chapter I've ever written, not only because of its content, but because I was actually able to write something as deep as it turned out. Also, this chapter introduces two new characters, one of which I have a link to the picture I used for inspiration, along with another of Shadow at the end. And yes, I have cleaned up my profile; it no longer has a bunch of filler pics, just the important stuff.

Oh, and in case anyone didn't know, I accept anon reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, and this story.

Shadow and Griffy are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to ExNarrator01

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made by and owned by MissDedodakes

Kai groaned as he pulled out yet another metal trunk from the storage area of his ship. It had been four days since he woke from his 'nap' and he still felt like he had fallen off the side of a terra. Rondana had made a ship wide announcement that Kai was no longer in any danger, but he still was not to participate in any combat or otherwise strenuous activities for five more days.

Things had changed since then though, no doubt about that. He had gotten used to being ignored, as was the common now. Shadow and Starling both kept their distances from him, and Tigger, during most of the day was the same. She had explained to him that it was because she didn't want to upset Shadow, who currently only had her as a friend on board. She understood what he did, and why he had done it, but notted that Shadow needed her support more at the moment.

The others had been….different. Rondana never seemed to be too far away, not counting the ships small size. Though she didn't speak to him often, she was never cold with him, nor did she leave the room when he entered as Shadow and Starling did. Marina seemed to take the same stance as Tigger, only with Starling in place of Shadow. The two actually got along surprisingly well, which Kai was thankful for. He knew that Starling was uncomfortable when in a group for extended periods of time, so having a friend, or just somebody to talk to and swap stories with kept her distracted.

Then there was Piper.

Piper seemed to be trying to make up for the rest of the crew, and though they didn't talk as much as they had a few days back, Kai was extremely thankful for her. She had picked up on the fact that he despised silence in any form, and tried to keep him company. He hadn't told her anything else about his past, nor had she divulged him with her own however. They mainly focused on the book.

As Piper translated it, Kai would look over her notes, and make his own set with anything he thought might prove useful.

Looking at the list of places they had to visit, he made sure to plot a course that would avoid one in particular for as long as possible. He still couldn't believe that out of all of Atmos, he had to return _there_ of all places.

The only other person that spoke to him regularly was Marina, and it was all business. She was new to these skies, and didn't know them, or what to expect. So Kai tried as best he could to explain the normal problems that would be encountered, things ranging from sky sharks, to Leviathans should they run across one.

Then there was the subject of Ancient grounds. Kai had recounted every creature he had come across and anything else that might be of use to look out for.

This was where he had to explain the rest of what he was willing to about the Virage. Something that still confused the others.

_Flashback_

"Alright, so basically, the more human like it looks, the more likely it is to kick our cans in a fight." Marina said grimacing.

Kai nodded his head. "Pretty much. They got pretty good at biotech towards the end of the war. At first they only made large weapons and creatures, and while they were, and still are a threat, their size can be used against them. The smaller ones you have to watch out for because they are not as limited in movement or flexibility."

"So the Virage was an early weapon?" Piper asked, thinking she was finally getting the hang of things.

She was surprised to see Kai droop suddenly.

"Actually, it wasn't. The Virage was one of the last things they made, and it's the most dangerous thing I've ever come across. Just hope that we never come across another one."

"But, I thought you said they started making things smaller in the end? Why was that thing so big?" Shadow asked confused. She was still mad at Kai, but at the same time she wanted to know more about the creatures, there was just something…off about them, or at least the one they had come across in the Phoenix Den.

Sighing, Kai leaned his back against the wall.

"Piper, do you remember when I asked you what you knew about Dragons a few days ago?"

Piper nodded. "Yeah, it was right after you said that the Virage were a final answer to a problem, or something like that."

"Well, the problem I mentioned, was Dragons."

It took a second for the statement to register, but when it did, Marina was the first to speak.

"Wait a minute, your telling us, that those…things were made to fight Dragons?"

Kai shook his head. "No, those things were made to _hunt_ Dragons. They were somehow given the ability to sense them from a long distance."

"Kai, what else can you tell us about the Virage. If it's as big of a threat as you make it out to be, we need to know anything that will help us." Starling said with a cool all business tone.

"What can I tell you about them? Not much that's of any use really. You already know that they're big, and extremely strong. The only other one I came across had just woken up itself, and I think it was still a little groggy. It's probably the only reason I'm still alive now." Kai said lowering his head.

"How did you beat it?"

Kai looked over to Rondana with a sad face. "I didn't. All I could do was trap it. I found it in a crystal lab deep inside a cavern, and when the thing followed me to the back, I set off the charges and ran like a scared rabbit for the exit. For all their power and endurance, their not too bright. About as smart as a little kid, but that still puts it above most animals."

"So it's basically just a giant that we have to avoid or run from?" Marina asked pinching her nose.

Kai looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment, but nodded his head. "For the most part, yes. Like I said, I don't have a lot of experience fighting them, and the only information I have on them…I haven't been able to finish going over."

Everyone looked up at him.

"You have records of one?" Piper asked in a daze.

Kai nodded. "Yes, and its part of the reason I take this work so seriously, and why I destroy everything. I don't want Lark, or the Council, or anyone for that matter finding out how to make them."

"You…don't know how, do you?" Rondana asked, sensing that there was more to this than Kai was letting on.

"No, I don't know how to make one; I have a….understanding of what happens."

"You're going to have to explain it better than that." Starling said narrowing her eyes.

"I know one of the key ingredients, so while I don't know exactly what is done to make it, I do know what is required to make one. And no, I will not tell you, nor anyone what is needed."

"Kai, are you sure that is wise? Knowing how something is made could be the key to destroying it." Tigger said from the back of the group.

"Trust me on this, if you knew what I did, you wouldn't be able to fight it. If we come across another, I'll deal with it."

Seeing that Starling was about to speak up, Kai cut it.

"Oh and that reminds me. Marina, you and Shadow need to be extra careful."

The two looked at him oddly.

"Why would Shadow and myself be at higher risk?"

"Because, like me, you two carry Ancient artifacts. I saw them resonate when the Virage woke up, and that's happened to me in the past."

"What do you mean, happened to you in the past?" Shadow asked, getting a bad feeling in her stomach.

"I've had my crystal set off booby traps, and have been hunted by things that could detect it. I'm not saying that you'll always be at higher risk, it's just something to watch out for."

_Flashback end_

Kai shook his head at the shouting behind him as he found what he was looking for.

"You call yourself a linguist! You said waterfalls! All I see is rock and sand!" Shadow shouted.

"Hey! I said it mentioned fish! And it does! Not my fault the place dried out and turned into a desert! This book is older than the entire Council put together!"

That was one of several surprises they had met last night. Tigger had been right about the ship needing some spot repairs after all, since last night one of the engines had failed, forcing them to make a rather hasty landing. They had been lucky to find the next location, and actually reach it before the ship fell apart according to Tigger.

Rocky Fall's, turned out to be more rocky than falls. It was a large desert terra that had a large number of mountains running though out the landscape. Not a tree in sight, not an animal in sight, and according to the external thermometer, it had an average temperature of a hundred and six.

That was why Kai was currently digging around in the supplies. Since they had not known exactly what to expect, he had packed expecting everything, and was thankful for it now. Opening the metal trunk, he smiled when he saw its contents before closing it and dragging it to the quarters where the others were discussing (i.e. arguing) the current situation.

"Rondana, I am fine. You don't have to keep checking on me every five minutes." Starling said swatting away the medic.

"Look, I'm only doing my job. You're not in the best of shape right now and you need to be careful until you get back your strength. I'm part of the mission team and I need to make sure your ok before I leave."

Starling groaned as she listened to the others bicker while at the same time tried to ignore the monster sized headache she was developing.

_Knock knock_

Piper sighed. "Kai, what is it, we're kind of in the middle of something here."

"I found something that I thought you could use, I'll leave the trunk outside the door." He said before walking off.

"What do you think it is?" Shadow asked, momentarily forgetting that she was not finished yelling at Piper about having been misled about their current mission.

Marina opened the hatch and saw a metal box about half the size of their lockers on the ground.

"Hmm, no harm in peeking." She said dragging it inside. Pulling it to the middle of the room, she opened it and was surprised to see cloth.

"What on Atmos is this?" Shadow asked, pulling the light grayish green material out.

As soon as Shadow pulled one all the way out and held it up, Marina recognized it instantly. "It's a cloak, harsh enviro type if I'm not mistaken." She said pulling one out herself.

"A cloak? Is he nuts? It's hot enough to fry an egg on the ground and he gives us cloaks?" Shadow asked in disbelief.

"Actually they're good for keeping cool. The light color reflects a lot of the light and heat. I'm surprised that I forgot mine actually." Marina said examining it more closely. "Though I don't know why it has draw strings running though it."

Shadow grabbed the two strings in the cloak she was holding and pulled them as far as she could. The result was the cloak closing up like a giant bag.

"I think that's Kai's booty bag." Piper said laughing.

Shadow dropped it jumped back away from it.

"HIS WHAT?!" She shrieked.

Piper continued to laugh. "Kai's a pirate, remember? I bet that's he uses these to carry what he decides not to blow up."

Marina was laughing now. "Now why didn't I think of that?"

Back in the hanger, Kai found Tigger messaging her head.

"Something wrong?"

Tigger jumped slightly, not having heard Kai enter.

"I'm just trying to mentally prepare myself. This is not going to be an hour patch job you know."

Kai flinced. "Look, I'm sorry ok, but at least we landed. If there's anything you need…"

Tigger shook her head. "I know we have what I need to fix it. I just need time. I could use a hand getting some of this stuff up there though." She said nodding towards the welding rig and tool boxes.

"There's a lift in here actually. It goes up to the top, you could use that."

Tigger stared at him blankly. "Why do you have a lift in your hanger that reaches the outside?"

Kai got a little nervous and shuffled his feet slightly. "It's uh…part of my day job." He replied looking away.

It took a second, but Tigger figured it out. _"Pirate, duh."_

"You sure you don't need a hand? I mean I'm not as good as you are, but I can still do a good patch job, and it's not like I have anything else to do."

"Nah, I work better alone. More hands mean I have to watch for more than ten fingers." Tigger said dismissively. "Now go on, shoo, shoo!"

Kai grumbled but left the hanger and returned to what had come to be his sanctuary, the storage room.

Marina smiled as she wrapped her new cloak around herself and pulled up the hood. "Not bad, Lark's got some good tailors, I'll give her that."

"And you're sure this will keep us from being cooked alive out there?" Shadow asked as she stared at the cloak with more than a little doubt.

"Shadow, I've worn one of these most of my life, and the only thing I ever got was tan lines because of my clothes. You might get a little warm, but you should be fine."

"Uggh! Marina, some help here?" Piper pleaded.

Marina chuckled. _"How is it that someone can have trouble with a cloak? It's not that hard. I guess I'm just used to it."_ Marina thought as she helped Piper fix hers so that it wasn't falling off of her, or choking her.

Turning, she saw that Shadow and Rondana were watching how she had done it, and were now putting their own on over their flight suits. She was surprised to see Radarr hop up with one of his own. Apparently he had found a small one and cut most of the material off, leaving just the hood and a portion of the cape. The sky monkey was much smarter than she had given him credit for, as she saw he had wrapped the sleaves around his midsection to keep his fur covered. She also had to admit he did look rather funny with the hood pulled up and his face set with a serious expression.

"Ok, now Starling, remember what I told you."

Starling cut Rondana off by holding up her hand. "Don't overexert myself, try to rest up, and keep an eye on both Kai and Tigger. I can handle it."

Rondana nodded and turned to the others. "Well, all set?"

Piper grinned. "Yep, I've got everything in my pack."

"I still don't like the idea of you carrying around the charge crystals." Shadow said wearily.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Piper asked hands on her hips

"It means I value my life, and I'm in your squadron. I know your history with crystals." Shadow said crossing her arms.

"Hey! It's not like I did any of that on purpose! They were accidents!" Piper shouted before pouting slightly.

"Ok, first of all, I'm not Aerrow, so pouting doesn't work with me, second, that's my point. Your kind of….accident prone when it comes to crystals." Shadow said with a nervous grin.

Marina rolled her eyes.

"That's why I have the fuses, remember? The charges are useless without the flint crystals to activate or set them."

Shadow still didn't look reassured, she knew from past experience that when it came to Piper, crystals tended to do weird things, things that nobody had ever heard of, and that nobody could, or would want to explain.

"Alright don't make me separate you two." Marina said teasingly. "The sooner we get this one done, the sooner we get to the next one, which might actually be a hidden paradise."

Tigger had just finished dragging the tools over to the lift when Marina, Piper, Shadow and Rondana entered the hanger.

"Tigger, did you check our skimmers?"

Tigger grined. "Yep! Everything's set and ready to go. Tanks are full, weapons charged and the tires are fresh. If anything happens out there it's your fault."

Marina nodded her head and climbed aboard her personal skimmer, just as Shadow did. Rondana, not owning one of her own, got onto one that Kai had loaned her from his base.

Just as Piper reached her 'loaner' Tigger tapped her shoulder.

"Hmm? Something wrong?"

Grinning, Tigger held out a set of keys. "Kai said not to scratch her paint or get any dints. If you do, you'll be buffing them out."

It took a second for what she said to register, but when it did Piper's jaw hit the floor.

"No way am I flying that monster. It's as bad as Aerrow's racing skimmer, and that thing uses the Condor's engines."

"Piper, you might need it. I gave it the once over, and trust me, that kind of fire power is always nice to have on hand. If nothing else it can outrun anything in case of an emergency."

Piper bit her lip, but reached out and took the keys.

Tigger backed away from the skimmers and opened the rear hatch to the outside.

As the four skimmers fired up and revved, Marina called out over the engines.

"Remember, this is sand, so don't push it. We won't be able to reach takeoff speed, but that doesn't mean we crawl like a turtle."

"MOVE OUT!" Marina shouted before peeling out of the hanger with tires squealing.

Tigger idly wondered if this was what it was like to be the flag girl for a race track as she watched the other three follow suit.

"Where did I put those things?" Kai thought out loud as he dug through the storage room.

Having nothing else to do, and facing the fact that he was now (in his mind) a third wheel. Kai set out to do something he had neglected for the last six years.

Target pratice.

If asked why it was he didn't bother practicing, his response would have been along the lines of: "It would be like trying to teach Harrier how to rap."

Meaning that it was not only useless, but it was also painful to watch.

Finding the crystals he had stashed in case of an emergency, Kai dug through the case until he found several Solaris stones. Grinning, he pulled out his tri-staff, and inserted them into the three crystal chambers.

"_At least I'll have plenty of time to practice. Not like these babies will ever run dry in the middle of a desert."_ Kai thought as he made his way outside.

Perched on top of the freighter, Tigger was surveying what lie ahead of her with a scowl.

"_I should charge him for this. No, scratch that, I AM going to charge him for this."_

Not only did she have to fix the busted engine, but she had to give the entire ship a service check. There was also the little factor of the temperature being over a hundred.

She was used to hot weather, but not to this degree. True, she had a Solaris-block crystal necklace that Aladd had given her to keep her from turning into a lobster, but it was still hot.

Her solution? White kaki shorts and tank top. Not her favorite choice in clothing, but as Kurk had said when he gave Aladd command for the first time; desperate times called for desperate measures.

Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she put on her face shield and started on what she knew would be a day long project.

Starling found herself to be relieved with the others absence. Since she had woken up, they had treated her as though she were made of porcelain. Weak, fragile, and likely to break if not treated with the upmost of care.

"_They seem to forget that I could take down all of them on my own."_ She thought with a scoff.

It wasn't that she was ungrateful as much as she was uncomfortable. Being orphaned when she was only ten, she had little experience with being pampered or taken care of. She took care of Kai when he was sick, but she herself had rarely even been, and those few times she had stayed in her room under a mound of blankets to herself.

Having people wait on her hand and foot, helping her get up, and walk beside her in case she fell only aggravated her.

"_I'm twenty four dang it! I don't need a nurse maid!"_ Starling scowled.

She still felt agitated over having Rondana dry her hair two days ago.

"_To need help with something so simple."_ She thought shaking her head.

After learning what exactly was going on from Arygyn, she found that many of the little details from the last few weeks making sense. She was thankful that her tiredness from the last few days had been due to Kai draining her, and not something that she would have classified as a 'real problem'.

This was something manageable, whereas if it had been a sickness or disease of some sort she would have been at its mercy. In this case, all she had to worry about was Kai, something far less frightening and far more controllable.

There was however, a new problem that she foresaw.

"_Now I have to figure out how to get Kai to actually use his powers. As long as we're connected, I doubt he'll call on them willingly."_

From their past, Starling knew quite a bit about her former apprentice. She knew his strengths and his weaknesses, what he would and would not do, and, his limits.

Of these, his biggest problem was taking risks. More specifically, with others.

With his neck on the line, she knew he would jump head on into terra Cyclonia itself.

But put another person into the equation, especially a close friend, and he would shy away from anything remotely dangerous.

It was all too much for her. Two years had past since the Nightmare of Mesa. For these last two years the only person she had to look out for or worry about was herself. The only thing she had to count on, the only thing she had to calculate was herself.

Now she had a squadron to watch out for. Now she had seven people to count on, seven people to calculate for. She knew Piper well enough, and had seen Shadow fight several times. But Tigger, Rondana and Marina were all unknowns, and Kai….

Running the figures over again and again, she kept coming up with the same results.

He was, in all respects a liability.

To start, he put the others in a state of emotional confusion and turmoil. Aside from Marina, the others knew, and trusted him greatly. But now because of recent events they no longer did so to the same degree. Two years worth of habit was now conflicting with three weeks worth of hurt and anger.

Secondly, he provided only partial information. This led to further distrust, and put them at risk from possible threats when fighting. Knowing a little about an opponent leads people to underestimating them, something that people are cautious enough to avoid doing when they know nothing about the same opponent.

Thirdly, Kai was not used to working in groups at all. True, she had flown solo the last two years, but she also had seven years of experience in flying, and fighting with a squadron. Kai only had a handful of group missions under his belt. While the others all came from squadrons, or at least worked in a group more than not.

And lastly, there were his powers. Having seen them firsthand, the others might, in the back of their minds count on him using them should the situation warrant it. However, as long as they were bonded, Starling knew it was unlikely for him to do so. Added to that now was the cost of him using them, draining her. She knew that Kai had only used his powers twice in the last two weeks, and that the total time elapsed was less than ten minutes.

Ten minutes in two weeks had left her out cold for four days.

Shaking her head again, Starling set out to find the others. It was after all her job to watch them while the others were away.

"Are you sure this is the right way?!"

"For the hundredth time Shadow, YES!" Piper shouted over the roar of the groups skimmers.

Twenty minutes had passed and as far as they could tell, they were no closer to their destination than they had been when they landed.

From what the book mentioned, their target was at the back of a canyon in the mountains ahead of them. The problem was that the mountains were not growing any larger, meaning they were not getting any closer.

Marina smiled. This terra was very similar to her home of terra Gerudo. A scorching hot sun, wide empty desert, and not an animal in sight. (Not counting the buzzards circling over head.)

It was quite a sight really. Four skimmers at full throttle, whipping up rooster tails of sand twenty feet high, with their riders all cloaked in white with capes flying in the wind behind them. It was like something out of an action movie.

"_I wonder if we'll come across any whip wielding treasure hunting hunks out here?"_ Rondana though grinning.

Having finished her first book, Rondana had started on her second, which just happened to be a romantic thriller involving a lost temple in the middle of a desert. She was still disappointed at the first books ending. Which had turned out to be just as tacky as Kai had predicted. Rebecca died in Wandicemo's arms, only to come back to life when Rachel's influence over her disappeared.

"_I just hope this one's not another rip off."_ She thought shaking her head.

Piper grinned as she looked down at the skimmers gauges. She knew that Marina's skimmer was comparable to Starling's Red Streak, and that Rondana and Shadow's were no second rate domestic models. That is why she was excited over the fact she was keeping up with them so easily with the nine gear beast.

Using only second gear.

Her heritage gave her a yearning for battle, a lust of sorts for excitement and danger. She was after all a sixteen year old Amazonian. That was one of the reasons she flew a heliscooter, to keep her adrenalin in check and to keep her from doing anything wild, crazy, and unpredictable.

But now that was not the case. She was going faster now on the ground then she was used to in the air, and the rush was intoxicating. Not that things were ever stale on the Condor, but getting shot at (in her mind) was not as much fun as flat out burning sky, or in this case, burning rubber.

Between her mother, and Aerrow, Piper never really had a chance to unwind, to let her hair down so to speak. She was well mannered, respectful, and often times served as both the voice of reason and sound judgment with the Storm Hawks. Those were all things she had been taught and had learned growing up. She did them for the sake of her friends and because she knew it was needed.

The problem was, that those things were not who she really was.

Not that she lived a lie or a double life as Kai had apparently been doing for who knows how long. She was simply….doing what had to be done.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, she was able to be herself, completely and wholly. She didn't have to be the voice of reason, she didn't have to keep the boys in line, and, due to Kai's status as a wanted criminal, she didn't have to worry about every little rule and law the insufferable old fools of the Council had set.

It was hard to describe for her. She had lived such a sheltered life, been guided by the hand. When she was given something to do, she had always been told how to do it, what she could and couldn't do, what was and was not acceptable. But now, now she had none of that. She had a goal in mind, but no restrictions on how to complete or accomplish it, no boundaries to hold her back other than those she set for herself.

It was easy to see why so few renegades ever came back. Who wants to give up complete and total freedom?

"_Heh, I bet I could blow Aerrow's doors off if I raced him right now."_ Piper thought grinning.

_Gasp_

Just like that, it hit her. The realization of what had happened.

She had changed.

The Piper that had left the Condor with Kai, the Piper that had grown up playing with Aerrow, Radarr, Finn and Junko on terra Lyn,

Was dead.

True, she hadn't done anything even remotely illegal (aside from aid a fugitive) but her thinking had changed. Already, things that she never would have even thought of before, were becoming common background thoughts in her mind.

She was the serious one, the thinker, the planner, she was the one that kept the others in line and chided them for doing silly things that were a waste of time, and here she was in the middle of a dangerous mission, one that could help decide the outcome of the war, and she was thinking about _racing_ of all things?!

Fear

It shot through her body like ice water.

"_I can't be like this! I'm supposed to be the mature one!"_ The tiny voice in her head shouted.

That single thought had been the one thing that held her true self back. It held her in place and kept her as 'Piper the bouncy, giggly, book worm good girl' since the resurrection of the Storm Hawks two years ago. It was her mantra that she repeated every time something she (at heart), really wanted came along that was (in her mind) childish and a waste of her time.

But now, for the first time, there was a second voice. One that she had never heard before.

"_Why not?"_

Piper blinked.

"_Why can't I be myself? The guys all goof off and do as they please. Why do I have to be the boring one?"_

The old voice spoke again.

"_Because they need someone to watch out for them! Their not responsible or mature enough to look out for themselves."_

It was strange; she had heard this tiny voice and listened to it all her life, but for the first time she could actually see it.

In her mind, she saw herself, exactly as she looked in the mirror less than a month ago. Dull orange eyes, dark blue hair, wearing her orange and blue flight suit.

"_You have to be the way you are! If you don't take care of the others, who will?"_ She pleaded.

"_Uh, I don't know, themselves maybe?"_

Looking over, Piper saw, 'her' for the first time.

It took her a few seconds to figure out just who 'she' was, but when she did she refused to believe it.

Sauntering towards her was a dark skinned teen with shimmering dark blue hair, and bright orange eyes that twinkled mischievously. Instead of a normal flight suit, she wore a sleeveless form fitting top that came down from her neck and went underneath her arms, exposing her from the neck to just below her shoulder blades. Her pants, while not restrictively tight, were snug and did show off her frame.

"_How….how can….that….thats me!?"_

Piper did a double take, then a triple, and finally a quadruple.

Once the shock faded and she regained control of herself, she looked over the other her.

"_That can't be right. It must be the heat getting to me. No way I would ever wear something like that, and since when did I have hips?" _

Before she could ask what in the name of the Oracle stone was going on, the two started arguing.

"_Take care of themselves? Are you nuts?! They can't even look after a pet rock! Order is needed. They need someone to look out for them, to plan, to navigate, to keep track of."_

The 'new Piper' rolled her eyes and cut her off.

"_They were mature enough to leave home on their own right after Aerrow's fourteenth birthday, and he IS a Sky Knight unless you forgot."_

'Old Piper' would not give in that easily.

"_Yes he is, but the others are not. I have to take care of them or they'd forget their own names!"_

'New Piper' shook her head.

"_They don't need a baby sitter. They can look after themselves just fine. So they play around and don't take everything so seriously, it's not the end of the world. Aerrow knows what he's doing, and has led us just fine for the last two years. Saying that they need someone to look after them and take care of them is saying that Aerrow is a bad leader and that the others are unfit to fight Cyclonia."_

Piper watched as 'New Piper' walked towards the old one with strong purposeful steps.

"_So, which is it? Do they need a nurse to feed them a bottle and burp them? Is Aerrow unfit to lead and not to be trusted with our lives? Or are our friends a true squadron, a family that looks out for each other, but still has fun because they can?"_

'Old Piper' was now cornered and she knew it. Unable to respond she started sputtering and faded until she disappeared completely, leaving Piper, and 'New Piper' alone.

Not knowing why, Piper felt several tears fall down her cheeks. It was like a piece of her had been torn away. Realization had hit her, but at the same time, it was all she had known up till now. She was hurt, hurt and scared of what was happening to her.

'New Piper' walked up to her and cupped her face with one hand, lifting it up so they were face to face. Wiping a stray tear with her thumb, 'New Piper' smiled warmly.

"_Don't worry. I'm not going to force you into doing anything, and I'm not going to change who you are."_

Piper sniffed.

"Who are you? Why…why is this happening?"

'New Piper' shook her head and laughed.

"_I'm you silly, just…not you yet. I'm not going anywhere, but you're….your just not ready for me yet."_

Piper took a step back and rubbed her face into her sleeve. She didn't feel bad, but for some reason she was still crying. Giving a half laugh half choke, Piper spoke.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready to wear something like that."

'New Piper' smiled brightly.

"_Awe, I like this outfit. Nowhere near as stuffy as the old one. It fits me like a glove."_

Piper still couldn't believe it. How could the confident, yet playful and strong teen girl standing less than five feet away be her?

"_Better get going. I think the others are getting worried."_

"Huh? What are talking?"

"Hey! Hello! Atmos to Piper! Anybody home?!" Shadow's voice echoed through the darkness.

"_Like I said, better get going!"_ 'New Piper said waving with a huge grin.

Piper blinked and suddenly she was once again driving Kai's 'beast'. Looking to her side she saw a worried Shadow pulling up along side her.

"Hey, everything ok?"

Piper could feel a few stray tears still falling from her face, but choked back the hurt and confusion she felt before answering.

"Yeah, just a lot on my mind."

Shadow shot her a questioning look before answering.

"If you say so. You've been quiet for almost an hour. I was starting to get worried."

Piper chuckled and shook her head.

"Na, everything's a.o.k."

Shadow shot her a puzzled look before pulling away slightly back into formation.

Reaching up with one hand, Piper felt her chest. Something was different, but she wasn't sure what. It felt like her lungs had grown twice as large, almost like some invisible weight had been lifted off of her.

Kai frowned as he watched Tigger roll on the ground laughing.

"It's not that funny."

Tigger, who had almost pulled herself up, fell on her back again howling with laughter.

By now Kai had a rather large tick mark and his eyebrow was twitching out moors code.

"STOP LAUGHING!" Kai roared.

"Hahah..I..haha..I'm…..hahaha….I'm sorry Kai….it's…it's just…..hahahahaha I've never seen someone's aim that bad! Hahahahahahaha!"

A little over an hour ago Kai had used his slicer blade to carve some targets into the large rock face that his ship had almost hit while landing.

Around an hour ago, he began target practice.

Fifty eight minutes ago he rushed over to Tigger, who had fallen off the top of the freighter from laughing.

Finally having enough of being mocked, Kai went back over to the makeshift firing range and resumed practice.

"Don't you think that was a bit over the top?"

Tigger stopped laughing and looked to her side, her jovial blue eyes locking with a pair of irate green ones.

"I'm sorry…haha…but..ha…you….you have to admit that…..hahahaha…he's pretty bad." Tigger managed to get out between laughs.

Starling looked away and grimaced.

"_She has a point."_

"Hey, if you feel so bad for him, why don't you go give him some pointers?" Tigger asked flapping her shirt to remove the sand.

Starling's eyes shifted from Kai back to Tigger.

"He's not my apprentice anymore. If he wants help, he can ask for it like everyone else." Before continuing Starling staggered a little, and were it not for Tigger, would have fallen.

"Ok, I think it's time for you to head back in and take a nap."

"I'm not tired, and I don't need any help." Starling said pulling her shoulder free before walking back to the ship.

Tigger shook her head.

"_Wonder which one rubbed off on the other?"_

The group of four had driven for over eight hours, and the mountains had only grown by a few inch's. It was becoming increasingly apparent that they were not going to reach the canyon without flying in under a week.

Marina pointed to a large mass of rock that rose from the desert floor and shouted to the others.

"That looks like a good place to stop for the night!"

The sun was starting to set, and Marina was preparing for the worse. She knew first hand that the dead and lifeless desert would become very much alive as soon as the sun set. They needed to reach high ground, or at least some place with defensive value.

A short time later, the four had reached the rock mass and set up camp. Which consisted of two pop tents and four sleeping bags. Seeing that everything was set, Shadow asked the one thing that had been on her mind for the last five hours.

"When do we eat?"

"I can guess we can eat now." Marina said, still looking out over the desert. "Who's turn is it?"

_Grrraaahhhhhh_

"O…k….Piper, are you ok?"

"Hey it wasn't me." Piper said holding up her hands.

"Not it!" Shadow shouted.

Marina turned to Rondana, who was holding up her hands.

_Grrraaahhhhhaahha_

"It sounds like when Junko is dragging steel beams around the Condor." Shadow said tapping her chin.

Marina's hands went to her scimitar hilts and slowly drew them free.

"Marina…what?"

"Shhhhh Piper, we're not alone."

Piper, Shadow and Rondana all reached for their weapons, but before they could get them out crystal fire flooded the area.

"AHH! Where's that coming from?!" Shadow shouted as she ducked behind her skimmer and tried to use it as a shield.

"It's from near by, but I can't tell how many there are!" Marina shouted, copying Shadow and using her skimmer as a shield.

_Gggrrrrrgghhhhhh_

"_What is that? Shadow was pretty close, it does sound like metal, and no way an animal can fire crystal weapons."_ Piper thought narrowing her eyes.

"There must be a group of them to put up this much fire!" Rondana shouted as she readied her staff.

Marina narrowed her eyes in concentration.

"_I don't know about a group, but I hope it's more than just one. All the fire is coming from the same location, even if it's moving, it's all coming from a single spot."_ Concentrating her ears, she was able to make out the firing pattern. _"It's two weapons firing. So either its two of them, or its one person with two weapons."_

Then it stopped.

After several minutes passed and nothing happened, the girls let out a breath of relief.

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now." Piper said trying to calm down.

"I doubt it. More likely going back for friends. We need to moVE!" Marina shoved Piper out of the way.

_GRRRRHHAAAHHHHHHHHHH_

Piper looked up and froze.

Less than an inch from her face was a polished white mask unlike anything she had ever seen.

Sure, she had seen masks before, and even fought a few people that wore them.

But none of them had six glowing red eyes.

_Grragggggaaahhhgghhhhhh_

End Chapter 7

AN: Muhahahaha! Cliff hanger strikes again! If you want to find out what happens, you'll have to read the next chapter! Be on the look out for

Chapter 8: First Day One The Job!

Till next time! Ja Ne!


	8. First Day On The Job!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 8: First Day On The Job!

AN: Well chapter 8 is here! I know it took awhile, but some of the scenes in this chapter were hard to write. One in particular I rewrote from the ground up four times. *Shakes fist at muse* Anyways, this is one of the most action oriented chapters I've ever written. Forgive me if it seems to jump around a bit, but it's difficult to write two things happening t the same time in two different places. I hope you enjoy it, and that you will leave me a kind word or two.

Oh, and in case anyone didn't know, I still accept anon reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow and Griffy are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to ExNarrator01

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made by and owned by MissDedodakes

"_Why am I even here?"_

Starling shook her head gently as she gazed at the night sky.

It had been so long since she had even bothered looking at it, a fact she still found surprising. Many years ago, almost a lifetime ago it seemed now, she used to spend her nights watching the stars from the roof of her home on terra Mesa. It wasn't uncommon for her to fall asleep and be woken up by the sun's rays. (Which seemed to be brighter in the morning than the rest of the day she remembered.)

Old memories aside, something was wrong, she was sure of it. While she may have been tired, Starling had learned the hard way to never second guess her instincts. They might not always be accurate, but it was easier to fix the problem afterwards on the rare occasion she was wrong, than try and live with the consequences of ignoring them when they were right.

"You too huh?"

Starling didn't flinch, despite being surprised by her former apprentice's sudden appearance. He might have caught her off guard, but she didn't have to let him know that.

"Something's not right here. I don't know what it is, but something's wrong," she said tucking a stay hair behind her ear.

Kai nodded in understanding.

"It's too quiet. I've never seen a desert terra that was as dead at night as it was during the day."

The two surveyed the area with critical eyes. It would be foolish for anything to try sneaking up on them. Aside from the one boulder that was only a few times larger than a skimmer, they had a clear unobstructed view of the surrounding area for several miles.

"Think the others are ok?"

"_You know they took a radio with them Kai. Why are you asking me?"_

"I'm not sure. If they had run into trouble they would have contacted us or at least fired off a flare."

Starling shivered slightly from the cold night air.

Even though the temperature had been over a hundred all day, it had dropped into the low twenty's at night. A rather large leap from what she was used to.

"You should head back in. We don't need you getting sick with a cold while,"

Starling's eyes flashed and narrowed.

"Same could be said to you. Of course what's a little case of the common cold to someone that just had their ribs reset?" Starling snapped back.

"You know that's not something I have to worry about," Kai said mildly hurt.

"Just, just forget it." Starling excused herself and returned to the ship.

Kai watched her move towards the ship and slumped slightly. He was about to turn back when something moved in the corner of his eye.

"STAR! Watch out!"

Turning towards the shout, Starling saw three blasts of crystal fire coming at her at high speed, then.

Only darkness.

Piper's breath hitched as she saw the six red eyes narrow at her, almost like they were scanning her. She could actually see her reflection in the white metallic mask, along with something red moving behind her, something with two drawn blades.

"GGGRRRRRAAHHH! GET AWAY FROM HER CREEP!"

Piper ducked her head just as a scimitar blade flew out from behind her, heading straight for the masked face.

_Gggaggaaa_

The creature ducked its head to the side and the blade missed by several inches. Though hitting and/or killing it would have been preferred, it had still served the intended goal of giving Piper a chance to get away.

Now that she was seeing it from a slight distance, Piper had only a single thought, one that Shadow also shared.

"What the heck is that thing?!"

'It' heard them, and seemed to take offence at the remark. Looking over the group, it let out a metallic hissing sound before rising to its full height.

It, just as the Virage before, vaguely resembled a human.

Two arms, two legs, a torso and a head.

Unlike the Virage however, this creature was not organic.

At least not entirely.

Its torso was shaped like a large letter S. The neck and head seemed to be unable to turn except at the point it was connected to the shoulders, effectively making the head both look, and move like a cannon, which was rather ironic considering the rest of the creature's extremities.

Its arms and legs were not only identical in length, but in appearance as well. They looked like long metallic cylinders that had metal balls for both elbows and knees. Additionally, the back seemed to be covered with a thick armored plate. Giving the creature an overall appearance not unlike a grasshopper.

With cannons for arms.

And legs.

_Ghhhrrrgggaggggrrrhhhh_

"Shadow, any idea what it's saying?"

Shadow gave Piper a 'what-are-you-talking-about-can't-you-see-I'm-a-little-busy-here' look before figuring out what she meant.

At this exact same time, the creature brought up its 'arms' (literally and figuratively) and opened fire.

The six ducked away from the creature's endless barrage of crystal fire behind the relative safety of the skimmers.

_Grraaahhahaaaa_

Piper looked back over to Shadow.

"Well? Anything? Is it mad? In pain? What?"

Shadow closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could, but after a few seconds shook her head and opened them.

"Nothing. I only sense the six of us; it's like that things not even here."

"Not even there? Then WHAT'S SHOOTING AT US!?" Piper shouted.

_Ggrrrrgaaaaaaaahhhhh_

"_Ok Piper, think, Kai told us that the Ancients had organic and technological weapons. Is it possible that they somehow merged the two?"_

Peeking her head over the skimmer's seat, she tried to get a better look at the creature.

"_It doesn't look like it's completely mechanical. The underside still looks like its skin. But if it's organic, why can't Shadow detect it?"_

Sorting and sifting through the information she had memorized from Kai's notes, Piper figured out what had happened, and felt sick to her stomach.

_Flashback_

"Alright, so basically, the more human like it looks, the more likely it is to kick our cans in a fight." Marina said grimacing.

Kai nodded his head. "Pretty much. They got pretty good at biotech towards the end of the war. At first they only made large weapons and creatures, and while they were, and still are a threat, their size can be used against them. The smaller ones you have to watch out for because they are not as limited in movement or flexibility."

_Flashback end_

"_Oh dear God. Please tell me I'm wrong."_ Piper thought clutching her stomach.

_Flashback_

"So it's basically just a giant that we have to avoid or run from?" Marina asked pinching her nose.

Kai looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment, but nodded his head. "For the most part, yes. Like I said, I don't have a lot of experience fighting them, and the only information I have on them…I haven't been able to finish going over."

Everyone looked up at him.

"You have records of one?" Piper asked in a daze.

Kai nodded. "Yes, and its part of the reason I take this work so seriously, and why I destroy everything. I don't want Lark, or the Council, or anyone for that matter finding out how to make them."

"You…don't know how, do you?" Rondana asked, sensing that there was more to this than Kai was letting on.

"No, I don't know how to make one; I have a….understanding of what happens."

"You're going to have to explain it better than that." Starling said narrowing her eyes.

"I know one of the key ingredients, so while I don't know exactly what is done to make it, I do know what is required to make one. And no, I will not tell you, nor anyone what is needed."

"Kai, are you sure that is wise? Knowing how something is made could be the key to destroying it." Tigger said from the back of the group.

"Trust me on this, if you knew what I did, you wouldn't be able to fight it. If we come across another, I'll deal with it."

_Flashback end_

Piper turned to her side, and felt the meager contents of her stomach 'purge'.

Seeing her teammate 'losing her lunch' Shadow asked the universal stupid question.

"Piper? Are you ok?"

Piper shook her head and held up one hand.

"_Now I know why Kai didn't want to tell us what he knew."_ Piper felt something cold and wet falling down her cheeks, and she screwed her eyes shut.

"_And why he works so hard. I can't believe someone would ever do something like that! It's sick! Sick and wrong!"_

Piper looked over to Shadow and opened her eyes.

Shadow almost fell back on her butt when she caught sight of Piper's eyes. She was well aware of her squad mate's Amazonian blood, and as such, she had always seen the tiny flickering embers in the back of her eyes.

But now.

Now, those tiny flickers were a towering inferno.

Pulling her staff around, Piper rolled out from behind the skimmer and charged the creature, letting loose a war cry.

"WWWAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH MARINA! AIM FOR ITS UNDERSIDE!!"

Marina looked up and was stunned to see Piper of all people charging the creature head on.

"YOU IDIOT! TAKE COVER!"

Ignoring the older woman's order, Piper ducked and sidestepped around the creature's fire with grace and precision.

"_It looks like she's dancing."_ Marina thought as she watched the teen pivot on her heels to the side, dodging another burst.

Then her own eyes widened.

"_It's a pattern! Of course! Piper figured out is firing pattern and is distracting it!"_

Grinning, Marina spun the blade in her off hand to a reverse hold and charged the creature from the side.

_Grragggaaahhhhhh_

The only emotion showing on Piper's face was her burning gaze of anger. Aside from that, her face was an emotionless mask, neutral and completely passive.

"_Step left, duck, pivot left, lean back, duck right, pivot right."_ Piper ran the firing sequence through her mind and sent the information straight to her body, not taking the time to dwell on it.

She had learned long ago that it was important to think during a fight, but sometimes you didn't have the time to think, you could only react.

And that was what she was doing now. Not thinking, just reacting, moving on impulse and instinct.

Marina was about to make her move when she saw Piper bring about her staff and begin to deflect the blaster fire instead of dodging it.

The sight was awe inspiring.

Here was a creature that had blasters for hands and was being advanced upon by a young teen armed only with a staff.

Piper gritted her teeth as she focused on maintaining constant motion. So long as she kept her staff moving she knew that she could deflect every shot fired at her. The only problem was that she had to keep it in constant motion and not lose her grip. Rarely had she ever been forced to deflect successive blaster fire, but she continued on.

"A little help here would be nice!"

The others snapped out of their daze, seeming to finally understand that Piper was drawing all the fire to herself on purpose, leaving the creature vulnerable.

Marina had just reached the creatures side when it stopped firing and swung one of its elongated arms like a baseball bat.

Ducking, she brought her off hand inwards for a slice and was shocked to see the crystal beam _bend_ on contact with the white reflective armor.

Cursing, Marina ducked out of the way and put some distance between them.

"It's beam proof!"

"No duh Sherlock!" Shadow shouted after the shot she fired off at the creatures back bounced off and nearly hit her.

"I told you! Aim for its stomach! It's the only part not armored!" Piper shouted.

"Stomach huh? Alright. EVERYONE! GO FOR THE LEGS!" Marina called out to the others.

Shadow charged in along with Rondana. The two flanked the creature and took sides.

"You take it high," Ronanda said readying a firebolt crystal in her free hand.

"And you get it low," Shadow said as she reversed the hold on her crystal ax.

"NOW!" Marina shouted firing two blast's at the creatures back, drawing its attention.

With its back now turned, Shadow charged in and swung the back of her ax into the side of the creatures head. Since she hit it with the side that didn't have a blade on it, but rather the blunt flat end, the creature was stunned for a brief second.

Rondana used this opening and tossed her firebolt crystal under the creature, throwing it slightly off balance, but before the Marina, Shadow or Piper could take action, someone else stepped in.

Radarr hopped onto the creatures back and shoved his cloak over its head before jumping down and yanking the draw strings, closing the cape section into a bag around its head.

_Graaggggaahhhhh_

The creature, now blind started firing randomly at the others.

Seeing an opening, Griffey charged it and head butted one of the legs like a bull, and Rondana swung her staff around, hitting its other leg out from under it, finally bringing it down.

Not wasting a second, Piper jumped in and brought her staff down, and fired a charged blast at point blank range.

The others jaw dropped upon seeing Piper standing over the now immobile creature.

She looked feral, almost like a wounded animal. Letting lose another war cry, she fired again and again, and again.

"_What happened to her?"_ Shadow thought, slightly afraid of her squad mate. The two might not have been friends per say, but she knew that this was not normal, something was very wrong with Piper.

Starling felt…warm. Something she hadn't felt since stepping outside of the freighter to try and calm her nerves.

"_What happened? I was talking to Kai, I turned to leave, he shouted something, then…nothing."_ Regaining her senses, she realized that she was on her back, and that something was on top of her.

_Hisss_

_Hiiiissss_

Turning her head to look up, she found herself looking into Kai's dull golden eyes. They seemed darker than usual she noted, like there was a little bit of black, or dark blue mixed in them. Glancing downward, she could see that his teeth were clinched, and he was breathing harshly from his mouth, clearly in pain.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Kai screamed as he raised his staff and pointed it behind him.

"MY TURN!"

Kai's crystal staff glowed brightly with gold and white light before firing a burst of energy that struck the creature square in the torso.

Several seconds passed as the blast of energy continued firing before the three Solaris crystals ran out of power, and the beam finally stopped.

Breathe shuddering, Kai pushed himself up off of Starling and took a step back before holding out a hand to help her up.

"You…you ok?" He asked shakily.

Starling noticed that his hand was shaking and he was trembling slightly.

Blinking, she looked at the teen, than back to the fallen creature behind him, then back to him.

A few seconds passed while her brain processed the information.

Kai shout plus seeing black plus dead creature plus Kai now in pain equals Kai took hit then blasted creature.

After helping up Starling, Kai used his staff to hold himself up.

Starling was surprised to see that despite his labored breathing, he looked more concerned than in pain. Something that caused her to feel slightly pained for some reason.

"What…why…What happened?"

Kai motioned his head to the fallen creature. "I saw something moving, wasn't sure what it was, but it looked hostile. As soon as I saw it lifting its arms I…I reacted," he said clinching his teeth trying to hold himself up.

"I..Kai…" Before she could continue, they heard sand shifting and saw movement all around them.

"Their underground! Get to the ship!" Kai shouted before taking off towards the open gang plank.

Seeing the large number of creature's heads rising out of the sand, and remembering that she had left her weapons in her room, Starling knew she had no other choice but to run.

Falling in behind Kai, she saw a rather nasty looking scorch mark on his now exposed back. It wasn't fatal, but she knew it was bad.

"_Those were meant for me,"_ she thought as she closed the hatch behind her.

"Tigger! Get in here now!" Kai shouted from the cockpit.

Seconds later the young blond showed up. She was in her pajamas and barely seemed to be awake.

"What's going on? Who's shouting?" She asked rubbing some sleep from her eyes.

Several blaster rounds hit the ship just as Kai raised the shields.

Now fully awake, she saw the sources were several creatures…make that, a lot of creatures surrounding the ship.

"What the heck? Who did you piss off this time Kai?"

Shaking his head, Kai dropped into the pilot's seat with a sharp hiss. "Did you finish the repairs?"

"What? No, it's not ready for flight yet. You take this bird up and she'll fall apart!"

"If we don't get out of here now those things will blast us apart!" Starling shouted as she leaned over the consol searching for a medpack.

"Forget the medpack, we have more important things to worry about. The shields will hold for a little while, but not for long." Turning his attention from the worried Sky Knight to the cockpits other occupant, Kai spoke. "Tigger, what did you finish?"

"Not much, I only repaired the engines. It won't take much for her to fall apart, especially with this terra's turbulence."

Kai tapped his finger across the consol before snapping them. "What about high speed with no turbulence?"

"What? You mean like low altitude flight? This ship's too big for that, and with those things blasting us we'd smash into the ground.

Kai grinned at this. "Not exactly."

Piper had her head over the side of the large rock that served as their temporary camp, and shuddered as she felt her stomach heave again.

After bringing down the creature, Piper continued to fire charged crystal bursts until her staff's crystal ran dry. Afterwards, she ran to the edge, not able to hold herself together any longer.

A warm hand rubbed her back gently, trying to help her calm down. It had been there for a while, but she didn't know whose it was.

"Feel better?" Rondana asked in a concerned tone.

Piper shook her head.

"No, and I don't think I will for a long time," she managed to say before another dry heave wracked her thin frame.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her gloved hand, Piper pushed herself up and slowly made her way to the others.

Griffy and Radarr stood over what remained of the creature, watching closely for any signs of movement. Shadow was by the fire, staring at the flames unblinking, and Marina stood with a serious expression on her face, waiting for the other two to return.

"What in Din's name was that about?" Marina asked pointing at the creatures remains.

Seeing them made Piper feel sick all over again, but this was repressed by the wave of anger that also rose from within her.

"Who knows how many more of those things there are. We could have studied that one, tried to figure out what it was, how it worked, what its purpose was," Piper cut her off at this point.

"How many more? Possible hundreds. How it worked? You don't want to know. What its purpose was? I don't think we need to even go there," Piper said in disgust.

"Unless you forgot, I'm your commanding officer for now, and more importantly, I'm on your side remember?"

Piper looked away, but her face still showed little in the way of emotion.

Marina, despite being friends with Piper, didn't know her that well. They had only actually spent a few days together at most before this all started, and most of those were missions. But she knew enough of the young bluenett that something was up.

"Piper, I need to know, what happened back there?"

Looking back to the redhead, Piper's face mellowed out slightly. "I think….I think we need to talk….all of us," she said indicating Shadow and Rondana.

"Kai, this is insane," Tigger said sitting in one of the ships gun turrets.

"Hey cut me a little slack will ya? There isn't that big a difference between sand and water. It should work," Kai said flipping several levers.

"I'm afraid that I must agree with Tigger, this…doesn't exactly scream well thought out plan."

"Et tu Star?" Kai asked trying to lighten the moment before getting serious. "Look, we have to move, the shields won't take this much longer. Our only chance is to outrun them. If we can't fly, then we'll have to use what we got."

"But sand skiing? Has that ever even been done before?" Tigger asked massaging her temples.

"…..no….but that just makes it all the more fun. Unless you have a better idea, then I'm all ears," Kai said impatiently.

"No? Ok then, get ready, as soon as we start moving I want you two to lay suppression fire until they're out of range got it?"

"Suppression fire?"

"It means to keep firing in a way that restricts enemy movement Tigger. In this case since the creatures apparently move underground, we need to fire at the ground behind us to keep them from following. Just copy what I do alright?"

"Ok, thanks Starling. I don't really have much experience as a gunner," she admitted slightly embarrassed.

"Not a problem. Though I must admit my own experience is somewhat limited."

"You girls ready?" Kai asked over the ships com system.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Roger, everything's set here."

"Ok, here goes everything," Kai said under his breath as he flipped the last lever.

Three large skis deployed from the bottom of the ship. The two by the rear landing gear resembled normal skis like those a person would wear, but the one in the front looked like a giant letter V, with the point in front of the ship. When they fully deployed the landing gear retracted.

"Well, at least they can hold our weight. Now for the tricky part," Kai said giving the girls fair warning.

Swallowing, he flipped a switch above his head.

The three ski's came to life with a healthy green glow, and the ship began to hover several inches off the ground.

"It's working! Girls, you know what to do!" Kai shouted as he brought the nose of the ship around towards the direction the others had gone earlier.

Two twin barrel turrets lowered from the sides of the cockpit before swiveling around backwards.

"Try to keep her steady, I don't want to accidently blast us ok?"

"Yes mother," Kai replied over the intercom before taking off.

Tigger watched Starling as she fired side to side, aiming just above the ground behind them.

"_So it's like watering a garden? I can do that,"_ Tigger thought bringing her own barrels to life.

It seemed to be working, the creatures were unable to go underground, and their surface speed was only slightly faster than a humans.

"I think we've got…"

"Tigger? What is it? Did we lose them?" Kai asked wondering why the girl cut off her radio.

"FASTER FASTER MUST GO FASTER! Step on it Kai!"

"Tigger? What's going on? Starling? Report?"

"Kai…we have….a slight problem."

"I need more to work with than that Star, what's going on?"

Starling brought her turret up so it was beside the cockpit and began firing.

Upwards.

It took a second for Kai to figure out what this meant.

Only a second.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

The creatures, seeing their 'prey' escaping haunched over and split open the backs of their shells, revealing four translucent wings, similar to a wasp and took flight.

Piper tossed a small twig into the fire and took a deep breath before looking up.

"I think….no…I understand now why Kai was being so tight lipped before….and I cant say that I blame him."

Marina and Rondana remained silent, knowing that Piper was trying her best to broche what seemed to be a very difficult subject.

"We already know why. He didn't trust us, end of story," Shadow said with a slightly hurt, yet still angry tone.

Piper shook her head. "No…he…he was trying to protect us…but in more ways than you think….he wasn't just trying to keep us out of danger," Piper said lowering her head sadly.

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked not understanding.

Looking up at the others, Marina and Rondana felt their breath hitch, both sharing the same thought.

"_Her eyes….they're open."_

It hurt them to see this. Of the seven, Piper, Shadow and Tigger were the only ones still somewhat innocent. Shadow had one eye open, but the other was still shut in blissful ignorance of how the world was. The others however…

Marina was still learning about their pasts, but she knew from what Starling had told her that both she and Kai had their eyes forced open when they were very young, and she could tell by the way Rondana acted that hers had been open for awhile, not as long as herself Kai or Starling, but it had been at least several years.

What they saw before them now was an awakened Piper.

"Kai was trying…to protect more than our physical bodies Shadow. I only just realized it thanks to you."

Shadow, completely confused looked to the others for answers, but seeing that they were trying to figure it out for themselves, she turned back to Piper.

"You've lost us Watson, care for a breakdown?"

Piper bit her lip, but nodded her head, signaling she would at least try to explain.

"Remember when I asked you what was wrong with that creature?"

Shadow ran the battle over in her head for a few seconds, before nodding. "Yeah, I said I couldn't sense it, there was just the four of us, Radarr and Griffy. I couldn't feel that thing at all. It was like it wasn't even there," she answered.

"Well…think about it. How could something be alive but you not be able to sense it?"

"That's easy, I couldn't. The only thing I can't sense are dead animals, but a dead animal cant move," Shadow replied, not seeing where this was going.

"You sure about that?" Piper challenged.

Before Shadow could answer, Piper turned to the two animals.

"Radarr, could you come here for a second?"

Hearing his name called, Radarr ran up to Piper before sitting down.

"Ok Shadow, tell me, does this help you understand?" Piper asked before whispering something in Radarr's ear.

The sky monkey shot Piper a strange look before turning to face the others and holding its arms out.

Piper then held onto his wrists with her own hands, and he went limp.

Shadow stared for several seconds before shaking her head. "I still don't get it."

Groaning, Piper lifted one of Radarr's arms up and the other back, then around a few times.

"Radarr is dead, his body unable to more on its own. If that is the case, how is he still moving?" Piper asked.

"He's moving because you're moving his ar…" Shadow stopped then looked at Piper with wide eyes, finally having caught on.

"Wait a minute, your telling us that the thing that was kicking our butts was a _puppet_," Marina asked starting to understand the situation.

Piper let go of Radarr's arms, thanked him with a chin scratch, and then turned to the others.

"Not exactly, but that's the basic idea," she replied.

"But if it was a puppet, then why did you say there could be hundreds more?" Rondana asked. She remembered when she was a child seeing people play with puppets, but only a very talented and well trained puppeteer could operate more than one, and even then it was limited to two, three tops.

"I said there could be hundreds more because that one was in near perfect condition and had no obvious flaws," Piper said sinking her head into her arms.

Rondana and Shadow were now lost, but Marina knew what this meant.

"It had been perfected."

Piper nodded her head, letting the others know that Marina had guessed it correctly.

"What had been perfected?" Shadow asked, getting a strange feeling of dread in her stomach.

Looking up, Piper answered.

"The process used to make it."

Kai was not happy.

He was still recovering from broken ribs; he had found out that it was he who was hurting Starling, lost the use of his powers, ticked off his entire crew, nearly crash landed, and had been shot in the back several times.

Now he was running from a swarm of flying creatures that could fire faster than any human and were now peppering his ship with crystal fire.

"Girls? What are you doing in there?!"

"We're doing the best that we can! These things are fast, can't you….go faster?" Tigger's voice was hard to hear over all the blaster fire, but Kai was able to make it out.

"Not on the ground I can't! Not unless you want me to risk ripping the ski's out from under us!"

"Kai, it's no use trying to hit them. They're just too quick. It's like trying to hit a fly with a cannon!" Starling called out.

"AAAHHHH! WHY WON'T YOU GO DOWN!" Tigger shouted firing at one of the 'Wasps' as fast as she could, but not coming even remotely close to hitting it.

Slamming her hands against the controls, Tigger let out a yell of frustration. "GGAAAAHHHHH! Where's a bug zapper when you need one?!"

In the cockpit Kai blinked.

"That might work." Looking up, he checked the instruments. The shields wouldn't hold up much longer, but the power stores were still topped out.

"Tigger, Star, forget the blasters, get back in here now. I've got a plan."

"What do you mean, the process to make it?" Shadow asked, not understanding how a creature could be 'made'.

Piper took a deep breath. "Shadow, what are the primary characteristics of insects?"

Thinking for a moment, she answered. "Exoskeleton, six legs, three body segments."

Piper shook her head. "Not body wise, I mean insects themselves. What makes them pests?"

"Oh, they multiply fast and grow faster."

Piper nodded her head. "What better to use for soldiers than giant insects? Rather than send your own people into battle, you have an army that grows quickly and in large numbers. Remember when we had to set off all those flee bombs after Finn's werewolf transformation?"

Shadow shuddered at the memory. "Yeah, they were everywhere. We had to put the Condor under a tent and fumigate the whole thing, how could I forget?"

"Now imagine five foot flees armed with crystal weapons and armor," Piper explained.

Everyone paled at the thought.

"But…how did they grow them with armor and weapons?" Shadow asked.

Piper's eyes clinched shut at this. "That….that's the reason I lost my temper back there Shadow…..you….you can't grow something like that……you have….you have to make them that way."

Shadow's eyes widened.

"GAHH! Star! Keep it steady up there!" Kai shouted nearly slamming his face into a wall panel.

"Well I'm trying my best! It's hard to keep this bloody wreck from flipping over just going forward, let alone dodging crystal fire!" Starlings voice called out over the intercom.

Gritting his teeth, Kai steadied himself by holding onto a ceiling mounted pipe. "Can you do it Tigger?"

"I can do it yeah, but why do you want to connect the main reactor to the shields like this? It'll cause a short circuit."

Kai had a small grin on his face when he answered. "I know, and that's exactly what I want."

Making a few necessary adjustments, the two returned to the cockpit, where Starling was doing her best to keep the ship from getting hit.

"Would you care to explain to me why I had to dodge them while you were gone?" Starling asked slightly tense.

"Yeah, we needed to save as much of the shield power as possible for this to work. Tigger, strap yourself in, things are about to get a little bumpy," Kai said taking the pilots seat again.

"When I hit the shields, I want you to switch off engines two and four, after that, hang on, and trust me ok?"

Both of the girls knew by now that 'trust me' was code for 'you're not going to like it but I'm going for it anyway' so they both gripped their armrest a bit tighter.

"Now!" Kai flipped off the shields and Tigger switched off the two engines.

Pulling the flight stick hard to the side, Kai brought the ship into a controlled spinout before bringing it to a complete stop.

Looking up through the viewport, the three saw the swarm coming their way.

"I really hope you know what you're doing." Tigger said softly.

Neither she nor Starling heard Kai mutter under his breath.

"So do I."

"You're telling me that those…creatures were….grown…and then turned into…turned into that thing we just fought?" Shadow asked shakily.

Piper nodded her head sadly. "Unfortunately, yes. I think that's why Kai has been so unwilling to accept help, or tell us what he's up to. If this is the sort of thing he comes across…."

Marina narrowed her eyes and punched the rock they were sitting on. The others jumped slightly when they saw a crack appear in the ground and heard only rock break, not bone.

"Marina…are you ok?" Rondana asked, surprised by the older woman's reaction. Sure, she was upset too, but she could literally feel the anger poring off of the redhead in waves.

"I'll be fine after we blow up whatever lab or factory we find here," she replied with a snarl.

"_To think that people are capable of doing something like that. And for Kai to keep this from us….Farore help us, what else has he faced alone?"_

"So…it's not that…he didn't want our help…but…he…" Seeing Shadow struggling, Piper helped her out.

"He couldn't bring himself to ask for help. Not because he didn't want it, but because what it would mean us finding out. I guess he figured better he face this alone than us finding out certain aspects of the past."

Rondana patted the younger girl on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure that Kai knew the consequences if he was ever found out. He knew the costs, but saw the benefits as being greater. And…from what he has told me.." She paused as Shadow looked up at her with a hopeful look.

"From what he has told me, he rarely holds a grudge." Smiling, she added one last bit to break the tension. "Unless of course your name is Harrier."

Shadow and Piper both laughed at this, Marina smiled, despite not knowing who Harrier was, she knew the purpose of the joke, and enjoyed it all the same.

_GRRRAAHHHHH_

One after another the Wasps landed on the ship's hull, or someplace close to it. They weren't attacking it; they were just making sure that it wouldn't be moving anytime soon.

"What exactly is the plan?" Starling asked, beginning to feel uncomfortable with all of the Wasp's now surrounding them.

"We wait and see if any more come. We've only got one shot with this. If it messes up…." Kai left the statement hanging, but Starling was able to hazard a guess.

Several minutes passed and no more appeared, but it was like a switch was thrown. The Wasps on the hull began cutting away and the ones on the ground jumped up on top to join them.

"Any time now would be nice," Tigger hissed.

"Not yet," Kai whispered.

More cutting could be heard, followed by pounding and various roars and shrieks.

"Now?" Tigger pleaded.

"Not yet. Just hang on," Kai said calmly.

Suddenly they heard a groaning sound followed by sparks and crashing.

"Their inside!" Starling shouted getting up and pulling her weapons free.

Kai grinned as he saw a large group gathering around the engines.

"Now." He said calmly as he flipped three successive toggles.

The first thing that happened was the shields reactivated, but instead of forming around the ship like a second skin it was like a large bubble.

Also, rather than keep the ship protected from outside attacks, it now kept everything in the bubble trapped.

The second thing that happened was the engines all fired at full afterburner, roasting the insects around them to a crisp. There was a big difference in the power of a blaster cannon and four destroyer class thrusters.

Seconds later Kai flipped down the second and third switches, killing the engines and bringing the ship to a stop before flipping a fourth switch.

This time bolts of electricity flew out from the ship's hull to the bubble shield, jumping from one point to the next. It was like being inside an electro globe for the crew, but for the Wasps, it was literally a bug zapper.

The three watched as the electric arcs jumped from the ship to the Wasp's then back to the shields. After roughly a minute the sparks stopped and the shields lowered.

"It worked? Kai you're a genius!" Tigger shouted jumping up to glomp him.

Then the ship was plunged into darkness.

"I take back every good comment I've ever said about you," Tigger said pulling away.

"Soooo now we're completely out of power?" Starling asked raising an eyebrow.

Kai shook his head. "No, just for the moment. Remember I have Solaris _and_ Luner crystals on the hull. It'll take a little while, but they should recharge the basic systems shortly," Kai said counting off on his fingers. "Right about now."

Several running lights flickered to life, filling the cockpit with an eerie red glow.

"See, I told you I had a plan," Kai said grinning.

Tigger slapped his back.

"That you did, even if it just gave me a few more days worth of work, you did it." Tigger said happy that she wasn't going to have to spend the night in a pitch black cold freighter.

She noticed Kai flinch when she slapped his back, which was unusual since she wasn't all that strong.

"Kai? You ok?" She asked.

Kai bit his lip and began to shudder.

"WWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The echo traveled out for miles and miles.

"Piper? Did you hear that?" Shadow asked, peeking out from her sleeping bag.

Piper looked up with bleary eyes. "What? I didn hear nont…" Piper's face fell back down and she once again resumed snoring.

End Chapter 8

AN: So? What'ch think? I've been working on this chapter for a few days now, trying to make it a good balance between action and the other flavors of my writing spice rack. I felt the need to have some humor given some of the chapter's darker elements, and yes, there are some subtle and not so subtle hints for those that look for them. Piper has had her share in the lime light, now it's another's turn. Who and how you'll find out next chapter. The 'Wasp's' were loosely based on the Tarantulas from Code Lyoko, but with my own personal twist added. Giving them flight and tunneling capabilities helped to reinforce their purpose as bioweapons. I hope this didn't turn out too cheesy, I'm doing my best to resist Sueism in all forms, that includes cliché romance plots, strategies for fighting, and what happens within the stories plot. I hope this chapter was worth the wait, I'm going to try and finish the next chapter of TDT now.

Look out for the next chapter,

Chapter 9: On the road again!

To be out soon. Till next time, Ja Ne!


	9. On The Road Again!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 9: On The Road Again!

AN: Muhahaha! After five months of writing and planning, I finally get to show this thing off! This chapter serves as a filler of sorts and will show what's going on with some of the other characters that will be appearing in later portions. Some familiar old faces will return, as will two…memorable, yet still unknown characters. I hope you all enjoy! Also don't forget check out Arashi21's new story: Fighting Wings! Which ties in with the Winds of Change series. Oh, and I posted a one-shot called My Reasons, it's worth taking a look at.

Oh, and in case anyone didn't know, I still accept anon reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

Kestrel was made by Arashi21

Soft footsteps echoed throughout the empty hallways, as a dark skinned hand slid softly across the cold metal wall.

_Flashback_

"Tell me what you have done with Starling NOW!" She demanded.

"I…I…I told you! We haven't done anything! We were waiting for her! You have to believe me!" Hamish begged as he tried to break free from her iron tight grip.

Eye's narrowed; she carried the man by his neck with one hand and navigated through the maze of unconscious Talons until she reached the edge of the terra.

"Tell me now, or you'll be inhaling lava for the remaining three seconds of your miserable existence!"

"I swear! We don't have her, we've been waiting for the last two weeks, but nobodies heard anything from her in nearly a month! I swear I'm telling the truth!" Hamish screamed.

With a half feral snarl she tossed the man to the ground and stormed back to the others.

"_One of them must know something. Starling was never one to waste time before, why would she start now?"_

_Flashback end_

"_So long, I can't believe it's been so long since I've been here."_ Sporting a wistful smile, the robed figure allowed her fingers to rest on the cool metal surface for several seconds, immersing in old memories of long ago.

"_Ten years. Ten year's since we were betrayed and I last saw my home." _Shaking her head sadly, the woman made her way to one room in particular. _"And I don't even get the chance to enjoy it." _She had to suppress a chuckle at that one. She was on a mission, and nothing would stop her.

_Flashback_

"You might have gotten the drop on me before little missy, but now ya in for a heaping of punishment!" Mr. Moss shouted as he brought down his whip from behind.

Not even turning, the woman's arm shot out like a snake and grabbed the whip in mid air.

"If you were smart, you would have kept playing possum." Yanking the whip from the man, she turned and leveled him with a glare. "I will return tomorrow morning. If by then you are still here, I _will_ drop every last one of you into the Black Gorge. Do I make myself clear?" She asked with a hiss.

Mr. Moss fell flat on his rear and tried to back peddle, but found his legs unwilling to work.

With that, she went back to her skimmer and took off, knowing that extreme measures would now have to be taken.

_Flashback end_

Coming to a stop, she looked at the name engraved on the slightly ajar door. She was surprised at what she saw.

"_This is new."_ With a small grin on her face, the young woman traced her fingers around the freshly engraved nameplate before pushing the door open and stepping into the room.

Looking around she saw the many shelves that lined the walls, some filled with books, others with maps or various assortments of crystals. Exactly what she would have expected to see in the room of the ships navigator and crystal specialist. There was one thing however she did not expect to see.

The ships captain asleep over the corner desk, with various papers spread out under him or around the chair he sat in.

"_So he's looking for a clue huh? We'll just have to do something about that now wont we?"_

With a playful smirk on her face, the woman reached into the folds of her robe and pulled a single piece of parchment, neatly folded it up, and slid it into a book on a nearby shelf.

It was hidden, but not very well. The top of the parchment stuck just above the pages of the book, so even though a passive observer would miss it, someone actually searching would have had a hard time missing it.

Looking at the sleeping figure, she reached out with one hand, but stopped several inches short of the young mans red hair.

"_No, now isn't the time to dwell on the past." _ Looking at her watch the woman let out a disappointed sigh. _"I'm out of time, I have to get back or he'll start worrying again."_ Shaking her head in disappointment, she left the room, but not before casting one last sorrowful look at the young man.

"_Please, please be the Sky Knight that I knew you would be. We're counting on you, all of us."_

Slinking out of the room, the figure quickly made its way through the narrow halls and back to the ships bridge, before slipping out under the open window and hopped down the side until her feet met solid ground.

Climbing aboard her skimmer, she was forced to repress a shudder as the wings of her skimmer deployed. The silver insignia of a once proud bird of prey, that was now marred by slash marks and burn scores matching the large blue one on the ships hull.

"_Keep it together girl, the past cant hurt you." _

"_Not anymore."_

"_Besides, we have bigger issues at hand. If we don't find Starling soon, things are going to get bad, I just hope they can do their part in this."_ She thought looking over the small ship she had called home so many years ago.

_Rooster crows_

"_God how I hate that stupid thing."_ Aerrow thought as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Looking down he sighed.

"_I still can't believe she didn't leave us anything. Piper should know better than to just go running off without a backup plan. What if something happens to them? How would I…we…how would anyone find them?"_

Getting up, he stretched his back to work out the kinks from his uncomfortable sleeping position when something caught his eye.

"Hey guys! Guess who's here?" Finn's voice called out over the ships intercom.

"Finn! Cut it out!" A noticeably more feminine voice called out over the still active mic.

Chuckling at the irritation that was in her voice, Aerrow grabbed a book from the nearby book shelf and left for the bridge.

"_So, Scar's here huh? I wonder what will happen this time."_ Aerrow thought as he suppressed a groan.

"Mind telling me what you're doing here so early in the morning? How did you even find us?" Finn asked as he cut off the intercom.

Scarlett rolled her eyes at Finn, but her beaming grin made it obvious she was playing.

"I was called here by Kai remember? Where is he anyway? All the message said to respond A.S.A.P."

Finn's face dropped at this. "Uh, Scar, he's like, gone. Been that way for a couple of weeks actually."

"What?! I missed him? Aw man! I hope it wasn't important. My radio was busted and I could only receive messages. I tried to find you guys as fast as I could to get back with him but….welll…..you know how things go with me right?" Scarlett asked with a shrug.

"What happened this time? Ran out of fuel mid flight? Flesh eating Meattraps? Vulcabats? Mindworms?" (If you have to ask who this is stop reading now.)

Scarlett gave the resident Merb a light slap on the shoulder. "No…..not the Mindwoms anyways." She said frowning.

Finn was gripping his sides laughing.

It was no secret that their friend was cursed. Every time she went anywhere or did anything, SOMETHING would happen. The fact that 'something' usually entailed a life threatening and or changing event had made her somewhat of a pariah. But her friends welcomed her all the same, some actually enjoyed that particular aspect of her (Aerrow and Kai) with others sympathized, knowing the pain of having a curse continuously slapping you in the face (Finn).

"Not like it matters anymore, if he's gone then I wasted the effort," Scarlett said crossing her arms with a sigh.

"Awww, didn't you miss me at all?" Finn asked genuinely hurt.

"Oh toughen up you big baby," Scarlett said giving Finn an affectionate punch to the shoulder.

Just then the doors of the bridge opened and Aerrow walked in.

"Hey, long time no see," Aerrow said with a grin.

Scarlett gave a small smile before noticing the book in his hand.

"Miss her so much you started reading?" She teased.

Aerrow tinted slightly before speaking up.

"No! I mean, uh, I was just trying to figure out where they went is all. It's my job to watch out for my squadron, and I don't like the idea of not having some clue of where they went."

"Yeah right, he's just worried that Kai's trying to move in on his turf," Finn whispered behind his hand to the others, resulting in a few snickers.

"Well, I'm a bit lost; care to explain what I missed?" Scarlett asked flopping down into the bridges comfy couch.

It didn't take too long for Aerrow to recount the events concerning Kai's brief stay aboard the Condor. Scarlett wasn't too surprised by Piper's actions; she knew the girl was an honest one that would do what she thought was right, even if it meant breaking the rules. She was also a bit disappointed that she hadn't arrived sooner to help out.

"So….what your telling me is that Kai and the others are on a seek and destroy mission huh?"

Finn nodded. "That pretty much sums it up. Things have been getting…weird lately though."

"Define 'weird,'" Scarlett said raising an eyebrow.

"No Cyclonian attacks, no real movement from the Council, no alerts and no problems," Finn answered counting off on his fingers.

"Soooo pretty much everything's good right?" She asked, confused by the others reactions.

Stork then stepped in. "The quiet before the storm," he said solemnly.

"Huh?"

"For the last eleven years, there has rarely been a single day that passed without some form of conflict. Every now and then we'll have a day or two, but for things to be quiet for several weeks…" Stork let the rest hang.

"Don't you think your being just a little too pessimistic?" Finn asked.

Stork shook his head. "Something…..something is wrong. The air feels….thick. Something is out there, watching, waiting, and biding its time."

Scarlett was about to dismiss this as more of Storks paranoia, but something was different about him. His eyes weren't darting around, his breathing was normal; he didn't seem to be panicking at all. If anything, this was the calmest she had ever seen him.

That scared her.

Swallowing, she spoke. "What…what do you mean? What's out there?"

Stork's head slowly turned to face her, and was a blank mask with no emotion.

"Something that has been here for quite some time, but….not a threat. Like a great beast stirring from a deep slumber."

"What's that?"

Everyone turned to Finn, who was pointing at the book in Aerrow's grip, silently thankful for the distraction.

"What? This? I just pulled it from Piper's study, looked like a good read," Aerrow replied.

Finn sighed and got up. "Not the book, this," Finn said pinching a piece of parchment with his finger nails and pulling it free from between the books pages.

"How did you even see that?" Scarlett asked wide eyed.

"Ppppth, as many times as I've scrounged around looking for loose change, I can spot something like this from a mile away," Finn said proudly.

"Not to mention how often you go snooping around other peoples stuff," Aerrow said taking the sheet from Finn.

"It…looks like a crossword puzzle, with numbers," Junko said scratching his head.

"I think they're coordinates," Aerrow said squinting.

Finn looked over the leaders shoulder to get a better look.

"Huh, it's fresh too."

Everyone turned to look at him.

"What? See how the ink is smeared? That would have rubbed off if this was old. This was written recently…and in a hurry," Finn noted looking over the parchment.

"How can you tell that?" Aerrow asked, being the first to snap out of his stupor.

"Duh, I write my own music. I know when someone wrote something in a hurry, and this was done in like, two minutes," Finn said with a proud grin.

"Ok, so why would it have been done in a hurry?" Scarlett asked looking over the coordinates, and surprised at some of the places listed.

"Maybe…..maybe Piper wrote this before she left?" Everyone turned to Junko.

"Well, it's just that Piper is always writing things down, and that's her favorite book. She's always reading it. She probably meant to take it with her but forgot it when they left."

"That….makes sense actually," Aerrow said blinking.

"How you figure that?" Scarlett asked.

"Well, like Junko said, this is Piper's favorite book, but she's not exactly….always on the ball," Aerrow said rubbing the back of his head.

"So you're thinking that this could be a list of all the terra they are going to visit?" Scarlett asked with a small grin. She already knew where this was going.

"Wellll if that's the case, we could always drop in and say hello," Finn said grinning.

Aerrow weighed the options available. He knew that they were watched like hawks by the Cyclonian's, but Stork was right, something just didn't seem right. Things had been running as normal, but then just came to a screeching halt. Besides, it never hurt to have back up he reasoned.

"Stork, set a course for the first set of coordinates and make sure the Condor's in top shape, that includes the impeller. Finn, you and Junko check out the skimmers and supplies."

"What about me?"

Aerrow turned to Scarlett. "Well, you're not really on my squadron, so I can't just order you around, but we can use all the help we can get."

Scarlett grinned. "I'll check over the coordinates and see if I can figure out their course. If Kai's anything like he used to be, it won't be easy to find them."

Nodding, Aerrow watched as the crew carried out his orders and gripped the handrail.

"_Stork was right. A storm is brewing. I just hope we don't end up making things worse trying to help out."_

Wiping her forehead, Kestrel checked her instruments again.

"Found you!" Slamming the accelerator to max gear, she flew towards the signal at top speed, knowing that she had no other choice than to continue playing this cat and mouse game.

Over the course of the last few days, she had been following the signal from the tracker in HER skimmer. Falconsight was out of the question due to the substantial lead he had on her, so it was the only choice she had at the moment. It was a good model, and according to the manufactures for most of the parts she had used to build it, could survive the harshest of conditions.

Apparently, their idea of 'harsh conditions' didn't include whatever Starling was up too.

The signal would be working for a few hours, then go for a day or two without giving off as much as a beep.

"_Either he rigged it to the battery and it only works when the skimmer's actually running, or she's docking in something heavily shielded."_

In this case, she was actually preying for the former over the latter. Even though it meant that Kai had 'defiled' her skimmer, the latter meant that Kai probably had backup, which would make things even harder.

On his own, Kai was a hunter's dream and a trapper's worst nightmare. Able to elude pursuers and ditch trackers with little effort, the teen was a proverbial living ghost, appearing and vanishing at will without a trace.

When cornered however, he was far from helpless. Though she had only seen him fight once, and that was several years back, she knew based on the reports she found of him that he was at minimum, low Sky Knight Grade. Starling herself was a known rank A level according to the Cyclonian bounty and her own personal research. The two of them together would not be easy to take down. If they had backup however, depending on who they were, could make her mission all but impossible.

"_I still don't like this." _She thought, recalling her initial suspicion of this particular job. "_ Scabulous and his entire crew together don't even come close to that bounty. With a price like that on his head he'll have every weapon wielding yahoo and hero wannabe in the Atmos after him once this thing hits open market. At least the Council is giving me a head start. If I can get a solid trail on him before the competition starts up I'll be alright."_

Hearing the beeping sound stop, Kestrel groaned.

"Well, at least I have a heading. Might as well follow it until I find a terra, then hopefully I can track him without this useless thing. All I can do in the meantime is wait for him to make his next move."

Somehow, in the back of her mind, she knew this was going to be a long, long hunt.

Cold hard eyes narrowed through a pair of binoculars.

"Looks like a couple dozen Cyclonian destroyers, six cruisers and one battleship."

Snorting, the man put away his binoculars shaking his head.

"Looks like the information was worth the cost after all. If nothing else I can have some fun," grinning, the man accelerated.

"Let's say hello to our new neighbors, shall we."

"_I wonder what was so important that he would have summoned me in the middle of the night?"_

Walking at a brisk pace, Nagera made his way through the maze like passages of the palace.

"_There is no way that he would have just remembered something and had me summoned. If it was important he would not have forgotten what ever it is. On the other hand, if it was minor, he would have merely waited until tomorrow to speak with me."_

Following this line of thinking, he could only come up with two possibilities. One, it was something secret, or two, something had happened. Either way, it meant the same two things. He was being denied his sleep, and more than likely he was going to be sent somewhere he had no desire to go.

Reaching the familiar door, he knocked three times.

"Enter."

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and entered.

Giving a half salute, Nagera waited.

"I am aware that you wish to simply skip straight to the point, so I will do just that. As you are aware, Domiwick has made a recent discovery of which Master Cyclonis is most interested in securing."

"Sir, are you giving me _baby sitting_ duty? Something like this could be handled by any of Cyclonis's peon's," he interrupted.

Dark Ace grinned. "I am aware of that. Moss was dispatched two weeks ago to collect….insurance for the mission's success. However," Dark Ace stopped at the younger mans questioning look. "However, they came across….something, unexpected."

"Unexpected sir?"

Picking up a small crystal, Dark Ace pointed it at the wall. Seconds latter a short recording played. It was only about seven seconds in length, but it played over and over on a continuous loop.

The recording showed a dark figure armed with a staff fighting several Talons. It seemed that with each staff swing two or more would fall.

"As you can see, a new player as entered the field. Mr Moss did not take a run of the mill Talon squadron with him for this mission. They were to capture Sky Knight Starling. This person, whoever she is, was able to dispatch them all in a matter of seconds."

Watching the recording, Nagera knew the person was above most Sky Knight's level of ability. But if that were true, where had they been all this time? Currently there were no Sky Knights who wielded a staff, that much he knew. Also, he knew the person couldn't be some random nobody, because their style of fighting was a mix of Sky Fu and professional military.

Whoever they were, they had military training, years of it. That coupled with the ferocity they used on the Talon's made it apparent that they held a personal grudge against Cyclonia.

"I want you to accompany Domiwick undercover as a Talon lieutenant. You will have complete command over those that accompany you, but you are to keep your identity secret for as long as possible. That means you will have to follow Domiwick's orders for the time being," Dark Ace said sternly.

Narrowing his eyes, Nagera spoke. "Anything else, _sir_," he asked.

"Yes, actually, there is. Should your path cross with hers, you are to gather as much information as you can, and if possible, capture her."

"When do I leave?"

Dark Ace grinned. "Why do you think I summoned you now? Head out as soon as you are able."

Nagera scowled.

"Have fun," Dark Ace said with his usual mildly mocking tone.

"Uh, sir. We're detecting something on radar."

Rolling his eyes, the captain of the Cyclonian battleship sighed. "What is it lieutenant?"

"Well…we're not exactly sure. It's coming in fast, but it's too small to be a carrier."

That caught his attention. Following the young officer to the radar readout, he frowned. "Are you sure this equipment is working right?"

"Yes sir, we contacted both the Aegis and the Farrigus, both vessels report identical readings, the equipment is accurate."

"Hmmm that's awful small to even be a skimmer. Send out two scouts to investigate, and I want an open channel with them. Something doesn't smell right here."

_Static_

"Ok, listen up boys. Looks like someone's snooping around our perimeter. I want you to engage, and subdue whoever it is."

"Sir yes sir!"

_Static_

The captain watched as two small blips took off from on of the destroyers towards the incoming object.

"Ten thousand yards and closing, nine thousand, eight. Sir the target is accelerating! Its speed just doubled!"

"What?"

_Static_

"We have a visual on the target, it's coming from the east, so it's difficult to see."

_Static_

"_East? Why would someone be coming from the east this early in the?"_

"GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"

_Static_

"Sir, target has entered visual range, it appears to be….what are those? They look like cla_sccccchhhhhhhh"_

_Static_

"Scout one report! Scout one respond! Scout two?

_Static_

"Sir, scouts one and two just vanished from radar, and the target is continuing to accelerate. What are your orders?"

"_It destroyed two skimmers in less than three seconds? What is this thing?"_ Looking up, the captain narrowed his eyes.

"Open a channel to all vessels."

"Channel open sir," the tech said nervously.

Nodding, the man took a deep breath. "All hands, hostile target approaching at high speed. All hands, battle stations!"

The massive fleet took their positions around the battleship, all facing the east where the target was coming from. Soon they launched their skimmers and heliblades for combat, and readied their cannons.

"Sir, target at five thousand yards, it's in range!"

"Fire," the captain was taking no chances. Whatever it was, the target had destroyed two skimmers with no trouble and was faster than most destroyers.

All of the ships fired their cannons at once in a single huge volley, forming a wall of crystal fire.

Suddenly, they saw a flash.

_Static_

"Not a bad shot. Now it's my turn," a cold, emotionless voice spoke over the radio.

_Static_

The flash turned into an explosion of green sparks.

"Sir, target's speed has doubled again! It's right underneath the Farrigus!"

Next thing they saw was a series of small explosions along the side of the ship.

_Static_

"Port side cannons have been disabled! What the heck was that?!"

_Static_

"I'm over here," the voice called out in a sing-song voice.

_Static_

Suddenly there was another series of explosions on the opposite side of the fleet.

"Sir! Destroyers Aegis and Acagie are disabled! Their going down!"

"What?"

The skimmer pilots were confused; all they saw was their ships riddled with explosions, but no apparent source of fire.

"What's going on?" One of them asked.

"Man I don't know, wait a second, what is that?"

_Cling_

Both skimmer's wings fell off and they dropped like stones. The pilots deployed their parachutes, but were unable to do anything else than watch in horror as their fleet was torn apart like a wet paper bag.

"**HAHAHAHAH! WEAK! THEY'RE ALL SO WEAK!"** A deep voice boomed through the sky.

The skimmer, and the heliblade pilot's felt their hearts turn to lead and their skin crawl. The laugh was, inhumanly deep. Something about it struck them deep at the core, and left them feeling nothing but fear and dread.

One squad of heliblade's top routers were suddenly sliced clean off, followed by every cannon on the cruiser they were beside.

"Fire! Fire! Don't let it get any closer!" The captain stopped shouting when he saw something land on the deck of his ship right in front of the bridge.

As far as he could tell, it was human, but its body seemed to burn with an ethereal crimson light. The body itself was pitch black, almost as if it were drawing in all the surrounding light to itself.

"What is that thing?" The captain asked as the creature walked towards the window.

"Bring about the cannon now! Fire!"

"But sir, if we fire the blast could hit us."

"I DON'T CARE! FIRE NOW!"

One of the cannons on the deck spun around to face the bridge, but just as it was about to fire the creature spun around and knocked the blast away with the back of its hand into a nearby ship, knocking out its engine.

"**Big mistake."**

Two translucent wings spread open, and with an explosion of green light it took off.

Flying upwards, it then did a back flip and dived towards the ships deck, flying through the top and out through the bottom. Then without massing a beat it flew to the front of the ship.

"**Now you get to see what happens when I don't feel like playing around!"**

Slamming its fist together, then reeling back, it threw both fists forward into the ships armor plating.

"It's cutting thought our armor like a can opener!" One of the men shouted.

"By the Oracle stone, it's, peeling the armor!"

Sure enough, after getting a good hold on it, the black creature flew sideways, popping rivets and pulling up the ships side plating like an old rug, completely exposing the side to the air.

It dropped the large panel it had torn then flew off to the other ships, quickly severing their engines and sending the ships crashing to the terra below.

After only a few short minutes, every last one of them had been disabled. The only remaining airborne figure being that of the 'black creature'.

"Pth, pathetic. Luckily for them, it would have taken me longer to destroy them than it did to disable them." Wings closing, and burning aura fading, the figure lowered to the terra below and pulled out a small crystal.

"Now, where are you hiding?" A 3D holographic map appeared with a flashing white dot in the center.

Grinning the man stepped into the dark cavern before him with a chuckle.

"Soon, soon things shall be set aright. The mistakes of the past shall not be repeated again."

Sitting in a dimly lit room, a middle aged man with green hair and a fringed cape sits before a chessboard. Sighing, he lifts and moves his left knight up two spaces, and drops it one square to the left.

"All the pieces are in place now. The only thing I can do, is watch and see how this plays out."

End Chapter

AN: DU DU DUN! In the words of Finn, on a scale of one to ten, I think that's an awesome! This has been part of my original idea since chapter on of book I, and I've been itching to get it out. (Guess what part lol) Yes, the two 'mysterious' people mentioned waaaaayyy back at the first use of the Gate of Mayfil are the same two here in this chapter. I'm not going to give any hints as to who they are, you'll have to figure it out for yourself, or wait till the part when they are revealed. I'm trying to balance tidbits and clues with mystery. Rest assured I'm not creating a Sue here. Everything has a purpose, and everything that happens, happens for a reason.

Now, I want to draw your attention to my good friend and editor Arashi21. He has a story connected to mine called 'Fighting Wings'. It revolves around his OC Kestrel and her connection to the plot. Please read it!

Now that we have that out of they way, I hope you enjoyed this overdue chapter. Please review! I accept annons!

Be on the lookout for chapter 10 soon!


	10. Sandstorms and Shenanigans!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 10: Sandstorms and Shenanigans!

AN: Alright, I know this chapters a bit late, but things have been busy…again, and I was stuck fighting a cold all weekend _sob_ but I hop you will enjoy it. Also don't forget check out Arashi21's new story: Fighting Wings! Which ties in with the Winds of Change series and was updated last night.

Oh, and in case anyone didn't know, I still accept anon reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

Cracking one eye open, Kai groaned.

"Oh come off it you big baby."

Kai's response was another groan followed by a sharp hiss.

Once again he found himself in what had become a very familiar spot aboard his ship. A place that he had come to hate with every fiber of his being.

The floor.

More specifically, the floor of the girl's cabin.

Again he lay wounded on the ground and was once again playing the role of the patient.

"_At least this time the view is different,"_ he mused. Instead of staring up at the drab grey ceiling, he was looking at the drab grey wall and dull grey floor.

"Ouch!"

Tigger snickered at his outcry. "Aww, is the baby ok? Come on, your supposed to be the guy around here remember? Toughen up!"

With an irritated growl, Kai responded.

"Let's see you get shot in the back, then have someone pour disinfectant on it. I'd bet a bag of gold that you wouldn't do much better," Kai shot back.

With a sly grin, she squeezed the bottle a little harder and dumped a large glob in the middle of his back.

"AAAHH! COLD!"

Fingernails digging into the metal, Kai did his best to hold back a shudder. Not only did the stuff sting like crazy, oh no, that would have been bad enough, but it had to be cold as ice and smell like rotten fruit too.

"Your enjoying this aren't you?" Kai asked with narrowed eyes.

"Oh? Why would you say that?" Tigger asked a little too innocently.

"Maybe because you have to fix the ship _again_ and this is about the only way you can get back at me?"

"Ohhhh that's right, I forgot all about that. You know, trashing the ship again and forcing me out into the scorching hot sun to fix it. Hang on a sec, I'm going to get some salt."

Eyes wide Kai was about to jump up when he heard the girl break into a fit of giggles.

"Not funny," he muttered under his breath.

"Alright, I've got to get back to work. Starling will finish you up, and when she does, I expect you two to help out. If we want to get out of here before next month, I'll need a hand."

Kai groaned in response, causing Tigger to roll her eyes before leaving.

Entering the room with a large bowl of warm water and wash rag in hand, Starling shook her head at what was becoming a rather common sight aboard the ship.

"If you wouldn't mind, could we hurry up please, this floor is cold," came Kai's muffled voice.

With a light chuckle, Starling set about cleaning the wound as carefully as possible. She knew all to well that burns were not the same as a normal wound. They were very tender, and caused a person far more pain since they left the nerves exposed.

"_I swear, it's like he was born under a thunder cloud sometimes,"_ Starling thought.

She could feel her friend tremble ever so slightly as the rag moved over the burn mark, the mark that was meant for her, she thought sourly.

"Kai, one of these days you're going to get yourself killed," she said sternly.

Turning slightly, her friend looked over his shoulder with a sad smile. "I told you already that I don't care. Remember?" He asked pointing to his now barely visible black eye.

Starling's head lowered at the memory of what happened just a few days ago. Had he not brought it up, she probably would have forgotten it completely.

_Flashback_

Marching to the crew quarters, Starling balled her fist as she barged into the room and slammed the hatch shut behind her.

Kai turned towards her, slightly startled.

"Uhh…good to see you?" He said slightly confused regarding her current state.

Through half clinched teeth, Starling spoke. "Why didn't you tell me that you broke your ribs? In fact, just what did you do in the first place?!" She hissed.

"Do when? Star, what are you talking about?" Kai asked, now even more confused.

"Don't even try that Kai, I've known you for too long. Tell me what you did back at the Phoenix Den, now!"

Blinking, it took a second for Kai to understand her request, be once he figured it out; he explained how he did his best to hold back the Virage until they were a safe distance away, and how he then set off the charges to seal it inside the buildings ruins.

"Idiot," Starling whispered. "You idiot."

"Hey, I was doing the best that I could with what I had. If I had know that thing was there I wouldn't have brought you guys with me in the first place…..and I probably would have just bombed it from the air….err upper stratosphere if given the choice," Kai said leaning against one of the bunk beds.

"Kai, I can't believe you would….why? Why do you keep doing this?"

Rolling his eyes, Kai answered, "I told you it's my job, if I don't do it, Cyclonia might find something too powerful for you guys to handle."

"I understand that Kai, I know about duty." Pinching the bridge of her nose, Starling continued. "What I don't understand is why you don't care about what happens to you. You're doing everything in your power to help us, yet you continue to let the Council paint you as some…some sort of common criminal!"

Kai grinned. "Oh I don't know about that, if my new bounties anywhere close to the original one I'm anything but common," he joked.

"Please try to be serious about this Kai. You were willing to die back there, but you do nothing to defend your image? Nothing to protect your name?"

Kai looked up at his friend sadly. "Star, it is my mission to prevent the mistakes of the past from being repeated again, and doing so, I will protect my friends in any way I can. If to serve that purpose I am despised, my body scorched and blackened, then so be it."

Clinching her teeth, Starling's hand shot forward like a cobra and nailed him square in the eye.

With a deep breath, she turned and left the room, but not before saying one last parting remark.

"If that's the way you feel, then you have a very cold and lonely road ahead of you."

_Flashback end_

Still looking at her hands, Starling sighed. "Look, about that, I'm…..I'm sorry," before she could continue, Kai cut her off.

"Don't worry about it. Like I said, my body reacted on its own," he said getting up. "Now hurry up and wrap me up, I want to get those bugs out of my ship before they start stinking up the place."

With a small smile, Starling shook her head and picked up the bandaging tape.

Shadow poked her head outside of the tent flap. She was groggy and still half asleep, but the smell of breakfast cooking was more than enough to pull her from her dreams, no matter how good they were.

"Morning sleepy head," Piper teased.

Frowning slightly, the younger girl climbed out from the tent and stretched.

"Took you long enough, I was going to reeve my skimmer if you weren't up in another two minutes," Marina joked.

Turning her head, Shadow looked out across the desert. "The suns not even up yet, why should I be?" She asked rubbing her eyes.

"We have to get an early start if we want to catch the winds," Marina replied as she started breaking down her tent into its bag.

"Winds? What are you talking about?"

"Marina said that she feels a sandstorm brewing, and that we might be able to use it to get in the air," Rondana said handing her a bowl of instant oatmeal.

Hearing a snicker, she turned to Piper with a half glare. "What?"

It took a few seconds, but Piper pointed at Shadows hair and spoke. "You might want to do something about that," she said smiling.

"Huh? Do something about what?" Looking around she caught sight of her reflection in the large cooking pot they had used for breakfast.

"AHHHH! My hair!" Covering her head with both arms the young girl ran back into the safety of her tent.

Hearing the combined snickers and giggles of the others outside, she stuck her head out through the flaps once again. "Sorry Piper, but not everyone can make bed head look fashionable!"

Piper stopped laughing for a moment and turned to the other two. "Does my hair really look like bed head?"

Marina coughed into her hand several times before going back to her breakfast, while Rondana just pulled out her book and started whistling as she read.

Pouting, Piper put down her bowl and ducked back into her and Shadow's shared tent.

"Geez learn to knock will ya?" Shadow said with her back facing the door.

Piper snorted. "Kai's not even here and all you're doing is brushing anyways…..where is my bag?"

Shadow grinned. "What bag?"

Raising an eyebrow, Piper looked down. "The one you're using for a seat cushion," she said yanking it from under the younger girl.

With a yelp Shadow fell over and glared. "You could have just asked you know?"

"Aw, where would the fun be in that?" Piper said back sweetly as she searched through the bag.

Shadow's eyes bugged.

"_Did she just say what I thought she said? Since when did Piper care about having fun?"_

"Hmmm, Ponytail? Or Pigtails?" Piper said pulling her hair down behind her.

Shaking her head to try and clear it, Shadow again found herself in a state of complete shock.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Piper?" She said with a confused tone.

Piper looked at her like she had grown a third head, but Shadow noticed she was wearing a small smirk. It was tiny, and barely visible, but a smirk none the less.

"What? I can't go around looking like I just woke up all the time. Sides, I haven't done anything with my hair in ages."

"But? Who…why…what?"

Piper snickered before turning back to the pocket mirror she had sat on the floor. "Hmm I've done Pigtails before, Aerrow said they reminded him of when we were little….I wonder what I would look like with a ponytail?"

Finally giving up on figuring out what was happening, Shadow decided to just go with it.

"Go with pigtails for now, your hair isn't long enough for a ponytail."

Looking over her shoulder, Piper shot Shadow a curious look. "I've seen people with short ones all the time, what's wrong with me doing it?"

Shadow crouched behind Piper, and after swatting away her hands grabbed the older teen's hair close to the base.

"See? Your hair sticks up like a giant cowlick. If you put it in a ponytail, it'll look like one of Junko's bonsai trees. If you let it grow out a little longer then its weight will help with that."

Piper frowned at the sight in the mirror. Her hair did indeed stick up like a giant cowlick.

"How did you know it would do that?"

Grinning Shadow let go of her hair and reached for one of the small scrunches Piper was holding. "Kai told me once about how a few years back Starling was caught in a training accident," feeling Piper startle, Shadow continued to tell the story and pulled Piper's hair into a part at the back. "She was ok of course, but her hair got a little…singed." Pausing she twisted one of the scrunches and pulled Piper's hair through it.

"What happened?"

Setting to work on the other half pigtail, Shadow continued. "Well, he said that she had to cut it pretty short, a little shorter than yours actually, and it stuck straight up for a month until it got some length to it. That's why she's always got it so long now, if something were to happen again, she'd have more to spare."

Piper tried to imagine what Starling, Sky Knight, hero, survivor, and her personal idol, had looked like with a slightly shorter version of her own hair.

Of course she broke into a fit of giggles along with Shadow at the mental image.

Scrunching up his nose, Kai dragged the insect corpse down the hallway of his ship to the loading ramp.

"I knew this would happen, I knew it," Kai said under his breath.

"You try to kill me, you try to kill my friends, you bust up my ship, and then you turn out to weigh almost as much as a skimmer."

Dropping the insect's legs, Kai turned and kicked the corpse several times.

"And what in the unholy name of Junko's cooking is that smell?!" He shouted after the fifth kick.

Watching from a few feet away, Starling covered her mouth with one hand, disguising her laugh with a cough.

Looking up at Starling with a slightly worried look, Kai was about to ask if she was alright when she spoke up.

"I'm fine I'm fine, just get these things out of here, they smell worse then Finn's gym socks."

Nodding, Kai continued to drag the larger than himself dead bug to the ramp to toss out, all the while muttering things varying from curses to pleadings that he had enough air fresheners onboard.

This of course made Starling laugh even more, which she continued to cover with more coughing.

Several minutes later Shadow and Piper emerged from their tent, no longer laughing, but still grinning widely with a small snicker every now and then.

"Pigtails?"

Turning to Rondana, Piper shrugged. "Why not? I'm usually surrounded by a bunch of guys, so I don't even think about it."

Shrugging her shoulders, Rondana went back to her book.

"_Where was I? Oh yes, that's right, the burning rope bridge over the Alligator Parana lake with the angry natives on both sides."_

Marina tossed a bundle to Shadow and Piper, before pulling out two more from her skimmers side compartment.

"What is this?"

Marina turned to Piper with knowing grin.

"Storm sails, I'll show you how to put them on, but first you need to hurry and pack up. The storm will be here soon."

The group quickly went about packing the rest of their gear, while Piper went back over to the insects corpse.

"Anyone got a cutter blade on them?" She asked.

Marina pulled one from her boot and tossed it to Piper. "Never leave home without it."

Thanking the older woman, Piper activated the blade and crouched down. She knew that they didn't have much time, but she was going to take advantage of it all the same.

Picking up one of the creatures limbs, she put the blade at the top and slid it down to the elbow, bisecting in half.

"_If this thing fires crystal bursts, then it must have crystals in it somewhere."_

Grunting, she tried to pry the arm open, but was unable to do so. Feeling a tug on her waist, she looked down to see Radarr, who held up a Swiss army knife and pointed to himself.

"You want to help?" Piper asked, slightly surprised.

Nodding his head, Radarr flipped out a small blade of his own which he slipped down the cut Piper had made before letting go.

Piper figured out what he was doing and slid Marina's blade behind his, coming to a stop several inches away. The two then worked together to try and pry the arm open like a clam, using the two blades as shuckers.

_Snap pop_

Giving way, the arm cracked open.

Scrunching her nose, Piper waved her hand. "Geeze, that's almost as bad as Finn's socks! Good thing it was just one of them."

Kai sneezed, dropping his current 'cargo' and causing its head to land on his foot. Scrunching his eyes shut, and counting down from ten, Kai picked up the creature by the legs and continued dragging it down the hallway.

Starling of course was sporting a ghost of a smile.

"Oh, bad! Piper! What did you eat last night girl?!" Shadow shouted.

"Hey! It wasn't me, it's the bug thingie!" Piper shouted indignity.

Shuddering, Marina muttered under her breath. "I guess it's a good thing we didn't try to cook it last night after all."

Again, Kai sneezed, this time slamming the back of his head into the bulkhead behind him, and again dropped the creature onto his other foot.

Starling broke into a 'mysterious' fit of coughs as she tried to help him up.

Breathing through her mouth, Piper peered down at the now open arm with a mix of fascination and disgust.

She could see where, and how the mechanical parts had been grafted onto the creatures limbs. It was a technological marvel, but at the same time she felt sick that something like this had been done to a living creature at one time.

"_Kai was right, some things are best left unknown,"_ Piper thought shaking her head.

Looking closer, she studied the weapon system. _"I was right, it is crystal powered,"_ she thought as she handed Radarr back his knife while using hers to pry the crystal free. _"It looks like the crystals energy is focused through a series of lenses inside the arms, concentrating it and giving it maximum penetration power."_ Shuddering, Piper imagined what would happen if it had hit a person not wearing body armor.

Looking at the crystal, Piper frowned again. _"I've never seen a crystal like this before, but I don't have time to look for the others….."_ Looking down at the dead creature, then back to the crystal, Piper grinned.

"_But I can take some samples."_ Flipping Marina's slicer blade out, she cut out the sections in the remaining legs around the area she had pulled the first one from, and put them in her, rather Kai's, skimmers saddle bag.

"_I'll just take them apart later,"_ she thought as she handed Marina back her knife.

"How many of these things got inside last night?" Kai asked with a grunt as he tossed what seemed to be the hundredth one out the ramp and onto the sand below.

"I'm not sure, but there cant be many more left," Starling said with a yawn.

"You alright?"

Rolling her eyes, Starling leaned against the ships hull and gave a tired glare. "I almost got shot in the back, then I had to man one of your ships turrets, followed by taking over for you and fly…well…drive until you got back, and then I had to try an sleep freezing cold ship full of holes and large dead insects. I would say that given the circumstances, I am doing beautifully."

"Yeah…sorry about last night….." Kai grinned nervously. The plan HAD worked, it did kill all the bugs, but unfortunately he had underestimated just how much damage would have been done to the ship in the process. The lights still worked, and so did most of the systems including the heat.

The problem was that there were several skimmer sized holes in the ceiling that pretty much rendered said heating systems useless.

"If you two are done taking out the trash I could use a hand up here!" Tigger shouted.

"I thought you said that you didn't need any help with repairs?" Kai shouted back.

"I don't!"

Kai raised an eyebrow as he climbed up one of the ladders that led to the top of the ship.

Opening the hatch, Kai groaned at the sight before him.

For every dead bug that that gotten inside the ship and died, three had died on top of the ship.

"I just can't get a break can I?" Kai said as his shoulders sagged and head dropped.

Marina pulled the cloth fabric out and stretched it over her skimmers closed wings.

"Make sure you don't put it on backwards, the cloth it tougher on the back side so that the sand won't rip it to shreds," she said wiping her hands off on her leg.

"So when the wings are deployed, this will be between the wings right?" Shadow said looking Marina's skimmer in understanding.

"Correct. The material covers the space between the wings and catches moving air, just like on an old sailboat."

"Uh girls, I think we have a problem." Rondana said pointing behind them.

Turning around, they were met with the sight of an enormous wall of sand coming their way.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Shadow shreaked.

Marina's smirk grew into a full blown grin. "That's our ticket out of here."

Piper's eyes widened. "You expect us to ride that thing! It's huge!"

"Which means that it's also very strong. We should have no trouble reaching takeoff speed with it." Seeing the others doubting looks, Marina smiled warmly. "Trust me."

Running to their skimmers, the group hopped on after sliding the storm sails Marina had given them over their wings. They only had a few minutes, but they were all used to being rushed for various reasons.

Once again donning their cloaks, the group lined up their skimmers behind Marina in a diamond formation. Piper and Rondana to the sides, with Shadow taking the rear.

"You ready buddy?" Piper asked nervously.

Radarr let go of his goggles, which snapped onto his face and gave a thumbs up before grabbing onto the sidecars rim.

Since he couldn't actually wear a cloak, Griffy just got down into the sidecar of Shadow's skimmer and pulled his overtop like a tarp cover.

Shadow looked down at the sealed container that her friend had made for himself and couldn't help but wish that they could switch places.

"Remember, when I say hit it, deploy your wings and gain altitude as quickly as you can. If you don't break through the storms ceiling the sand will strip you down to the bone in no time!" Marina called out over the skimmers engines.

Behind them the sandstorm came thundering towards them like a freight train, paying no heed to what lay in its path.

"Floor it now!" Marina shouted taking off at top speed.

The others followed her example and slammed the accelerator to full.

"Are you sure this will work?" Shadow called out.

"Of course! Back on Gerudo we do this all the time!" She called back.

Closing her eyes, Marina listened to the rumbling thunder of the storm as it got closer and closer.

"_Just like old times, huh dad?"_

"It's gaining on us!" Piper shouted more than just a little alarmed.

Grinning, Marina looked over her shoulder, first at Piper, then at the storm.

"No ship on Atmos can outrun one of these things! But were not trying to outrun it are we?!" Marina shouted. Then looking further back, she felt a slight tremble pass through her body.

Not one of fear mind you, far from it. Even though she had seen several people die attempting what they were doing, this was one of Marina's favorite sports.

Naboroou was one of the few who shared this love of the extreme with her; she had actually been the one who got her hooked on it in the first place.

"Go big, or go home," Naboroou had said grinning the first time she showed Marina how to harness what only the Gerudo knew to be 'True Desert Power.'

"_If I had to guess, I'd say this was the biggest one I've ever seen."_ Marina thought as her gaze traveled up, up and up to the top of the sandstorms crest. Feeling the tremble in her body increase, she didn't try to suppress her grin from turning wicked at the least. She couldn't even remember the last time she had this much fun.

"Ok, deploy wings and wheelie! Get your nose's up now!" Marina shouted.

Following the order given, the others popped up the front tires of their skimmers and deployed their wings.

"_Of course! Sandstorms are driven by the wind, but since the sand is so heavy, it trails behind the guest itself! Marina, you're a genius!"_ Piper thought as she saw the front tire of her skimmer lift higher and higher off the ground.

Seconds later all four of the skimmers were off the ground and rising steadily. Pulled out of her revelry, Marina remembered that this was the first time the others had done this, so they still had no clue what to do.

"Climb now! We have to get over the wall or it'll catch us! And trust me; that won't be a pretty sight!"

Eyes wide, Shadow pulled back on her controls and pulled straight up, followed by Rondana and Piper. Marina, who had done this several times before, rose up at a much calmer, but still speedy rate.

Once the four skimmers reached the top of the sandstorm, Marina told them to sit back and enjoy the ride, since the winds were still blowing strong and their sails were intact, they could 'piggy back' it for a while.

Dropping yet another dead bug off the side of his ship, Kai sunk to his knees panting.

"I think Tritonn said it best," clearing his throat, Kai did his best impression of the Sky Knight. "Daarrr this blows matey, arrrhhre."

Tigger snickered while Starling just smiled rolling her eyes.

"Well since you seem to have so much energy left, why don't you head below and start working on fixing the ships internal damage? Tigger can't fix this whole thing herself," Starling said with a mostly business, but slightly joking tone.

Shoulders slumping, Kai turned to the ships lift and slammed the control.

"Yes dear," he said in a defeated and somber tone facing the other way. Of course he was grinning like the cat that ate the canary, but he wasn't going to let her see that.

Tigger nearly dropped her wrench at seeing Starling's red gaping face.

"Hmmm Starling? You ok?" She teased as she poked the older woman's shoulder several times.

"I I wha he jus…drrrrrrr! Insufferable little weasel. He's been practicing again I know it." Starling muttered to herself as she walked to the other side of the ship and fiddled with some of the ripped armor plating.

Tigger smiled at this development, recalling Rondana's little plan from what seemed so long ago.

"_Look's like she was right after all."_ Then, her warm smile turned into a large grin.

"_This is going to be sooo much better then those dumb soaps mom was always watching."_

Kai smirked as he got off the lift and stepped out onto the floor. "Kai one, Starling zippo." Taking another step he was met with a squishy sound, one that he knew all to well.

"Arygyn, this is your doing, I know it," he said scraping his boot on the floor. "Now I have to toss these out."

Piper looked around with a sense of aw. She had never seen a sandstorm before, and never thought she would, well, scratch that, she never thought she would see one this close up. Surrounding them on all sides was a carpet of moving sand that rose several hundred feet into the air. It was, for all intents and purposes, a tiny, mobile terra.

Shadow and Rondana, while still amazed, preferred to avert their eyes from the ground and only look straight ahead. To be so close to something that was a known danger didn't sit too well with them.

Marina closed her eyes as she felt warm memories of the past flood her.

"_Marina! You have to feel the storm, not fear it! How many times have I told you that?"_

"_Ye..yes father. I will try harder next time."_

"_Marina, you are my daughter, and heir to the throne. People will see me when they look at you, people will remember me when the look at you. Do you want me to be remembered as weak? Do you want to be known as weak?"_

Knowing that her pride rivaled his own, Marina's father goaded her again.

"_The future barer of Din's Fire, a coward, and afraid of the power she is supposed to wield as her own?"_

That made her ears perk.

"_I am not a coward father! I'll show you!"_ Pulling away from her fathers grip, Marina jumped onto her skimmer and raced to catch up to the group that was about to brave the large storm.

Opening her eyes, Marina recalled every detail of her first storm run. The fear, the excitement, the adrenalin! Storm running had become something very special to her, as it was one of the few things she ever got to enjoy with her father, the one bridge between the two.

"Marina! Look!"

Snapping out of her thoughts at Piper's outcry, Marina looked up at what was before them. A huge wall of rock that seemed to cover from one end of the entire terra to the other loomed before them.

"We can't climb over that! Even with skimmers!" Shadow shouted in alarm.

"We won't have to! The logbook said that there was a network of canyons that ran through it like a spiders web. We just need to find the entrance!" Piper shouted.

"We can't turn with the storm surge pushing us Piper! We need a plan B!" Marina shouted back.

Watching the wall of rock grow ever larger and closer, Piper pulled out her binoculars and scanned ahead.

"_Ok, it looks like there is a small cave just ahead. If we can get inside it we can wait out the storm and find one of the entrances after is passes us by."_

"I see a cave up ahead! We'll use it for shelter until the storm passes over ok?" Piper shouted.

Seeing that they had no other choice, the others agreed and made their way to the cave.

Closing one of panels, Tigger stretched her now sore back.

"Why oh why did I sign on with you guys in the first place?" She asked no one in particular.

"Don't look at me. I didn't even volunteer for this one, I was drafted," Starling said getting up and brushing her hands on her pants.

"You mean you wouldn't have come if Arygyn hadn't made you?" Tigger asked genuinely surprised.

The older woman shook her head. "Actually, I don't know. I can't say for certain if I would or would not have come had Kai asked me himself."

Tigger dropped her tool belt and glared.

"You were best friend! Why would you have turned him down if he asked you for help?" She asked angrily.

Starling raised a single eyebrow at the small blond's outburst.

"Were is the operative word Tigger, were. Aside from the…Cabion incident, we haven't spoken to each other for close to two years. Added to that we have to war to deal with, and Kai seems to have picked up his own…line of duties, we just fell out of contact I guess," she said simply.

"That's just an excuse and you know it. Sky Knights are allowed to take breaks Starling. Aerrow takes his squadron to terra Neon at least once every other month."

Starling smiled. "True, but the Storm Hawks are a free range squadron; they don't have a terra to watch over."

"_Why does this seem so familiar?"_ Shaking her head, Tigger pressed forward. "So? What about the Absolute Zero's? They get together with the Nord's and have their little X game challenges every season? The Screaming Queen's have a festival every solstice, and the Neck Deeps have their mammoth mouth bass runs every spring. Why can't you take a break?"

Starling shot the younger girl a weak glare, more out of annoyance than actual anger before responding. "Look, I just happen to be rather busy alright? I keep myself that way because I happen to prefer it. And I do take breaks. You can ask Piper if you don't believe me."

"_Oh dear lord. Now I know where he got it from." _Mentally face palming; Tigger realized that she was talking to an older, more experienced female version of Kai.

"_This is going to be a lot harder than I thought."_ Taking a deep breath, Tigger gave Starling's armor a good first whack.

"Look, I can understand wanting to do your part in the war and all, but just keep in mind that even Lark gives her generals vacation time, and she's a tyrant." With that, she walked off, knowing that she hadn't even cracked the older woman's armor, but hoped that she had made a good sized dent in it that the others could work on.

Snorting, Starling walked back over to the spot she had been working on and sat down on the towel she was using to separate herself from the ships now hot outer skin.

"Even Lark gives her generals vacation time," she muttered. "What is she trying to imply? That I don't know how to have fun?" Popping the plate up, she groaned at the sight of fried wiring.

"Great, this will take at least another six hours, and now I can't even focus."

"_Now it all makes sense. Starling and Kai are both identical as far as traits go, they just happen to have completely opposite personalities. They both drown themselves in work to keep occupied and hide themselves from view around people. Kai with humor and Starling with stiffness. I can't see those two being anything more than casual acquaintances at best, let alone best friends."_

Walking down the hallway to the kitchen, Tigger pondered over this latest development. _"At the same time, the tension between those two could choke the Leviathan. They miss each other, and want to at least speak to each other freely, but what's stopping them? Their no different than Finn and Piper, and those two are like brother and sister!"_

Opening the door, she was surprised to see Kai reaching inside of the refrigerator with a guilty look on his face.

"What?"

Eyeing him for a moment, Tigger went though all her memories regarding the older teen. From when they first met back on terra Cyclonia, to all the missions they had worked on together. He was always so confident, so assured that everything was going to work out. Never once could she remember him holding back and not giving it his all.

"_He's the kindest most loyal friend a person could ask for. He'd do anything for one of his friends, and God have mercy on anyone that hurts someone he cares about."_

She had to suppress a small chuckle at the memory of how she had to actually beg him _not_ to beat Aladd to a pulp when he forgot their first anniversary as a couple.

"_The only reason Aladd's not pushing up daisies or eating through a straw right now is because I asked him not too."_

Tigger's eyes widened.

"_Be…cause….I…asked…him…too…oh no..Starling..you didn't?"_

"Yo, Tigger you ok?" Kai asked, concern clear in his voice.

"Look, if you wanted the last chicken leg all you had to do was ask, you don't need to cry over it. Here, take it." Kai said pushing the salad bowl out towards the girl.

"Wha?" Reaching up, she felt a single tear on her cheek. Shaking her head, Tigger grinned. "Naa, you've already got it. I was just…remembering something. I guess the smell triggered a memory," she said lamely.

"The smell of chicken salad triggered a bad memory?" Kai said skeptically.

Tigger nodded and wiped her eye.

After a few tense moments passed, Kai chuckled.

"Man, I don't think I could live if I were you," Kai said closing the fridge door with his foot and heading over to the table.

Letting out the breath she had been holding, Tigger thanked the powers that be that Kai had actually bought her lame excuse.

Pulling out a bottle of water, she watched as Kai made short work of his chicken salad sandwich, and frowned. _"Kai….did you try already?"_

The thought made her chest clinch tightly. Despite how much it hurt, she pursued the thought to its end.

"_If he…if he did try, and she shot him down….he would have kept trying. Kai never gives up on anything….but if she asked him….if she asked him to…"_

Now things were becoming a bit clearer. She didn't have all the pieces, and the image was still fuzzy, but things were starting to come into focus.

"_It looks like Kai's not the only one keeping secrets around here."_ Narrowing her eyes, Tigger decided that she was going to need Starling's help with repairs after all, and that Kai would be very busy rewiring the inside of the ship.

"That's not a cave! That's a crack!" Shadow shouted at seeing where they were heading.

"It's the best we can do, or do you want to be a smear on the wall?" Piper asked irritated.

"But!.....Fine! But if I crash, you're explaining it to Kai the Keizer, not me." Shadow said sticking her nose up.

Rolling her eyes, Piper took point and led the group into what would serve as their shelter until the storm passed over. After landing and coming to a stop inside the surprisingly large crevice, Piper deployed a portable shield around the entrance to keep out the storm.

From an outcropping of rock not too far away, a lone figure watched with interest as the four skimmers flew into the cave.

"It's been awhile since anyone came to visit here," the figure said with a small smile. Pulling the two swords out of the ground and spinning them around, the figure slide them into the holsters on her back.

"I just hope their not here to cause trouble," she said running forward and jumping from the rock platform to the next one some twenty feet away.

End Chapter 14

Ok, like I said, I know this one was a bit late, but I hope it made up for that. This story is going to have a lot of characters in it, some good, others bad. But I want to assure my readers (if there are any left) that I'm not flooding it with OC's. I'm trying to write this out like a book or RPG, which means minor characters, will appear from time to time. I hope to get the next chapter out soon, but I'm not making any promises.

Till next time, Ja Ne! (You were right! Ja Ne does appear on it's own page lol)


	11. Song of the Valkyrie!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 11: Song of the Valkyrie!

AN: _Beep Boop _All passengers, please keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. We want to thank you for riding our newest attraction the Tempest. We hope you will enjoy the ride; barf bags are located in the pouch in front of you.

Ok, I know that came out of nowhere, but trust me, if you thought the previous chapters of this little gem were in any way an emotional and/or psychological rollercoaster, then you've been on the Scooby Doo coaster and are now in for a real ride. This chapter, in some places, will be rough, but, I KNOW you'll enjoy it.

Also don't forget check out Arashi21's new story: Fighting Wings! Which ties in with the Winds of Change serie, but is told through the eyes of Kestrel!

Oh, and in case anyone didn't know, I still accept anon reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

Landing on the next outcropping of rock, the lone figure looked up and gasped.

"A sandstorm? I need to get out of here!"

Looking around, and seeing that she didn't have time to climb the cliff, she took a deep breath. "I just hope they don't see me."

"How long do you think before the storm dies out Marina?"

Looking up from her spot on the cold rocky floor, Marina sighed. "Shadow, it could last anywhere from an hour to a day, it depends on the storm itself. My advice to you is to go ahead and get comfortable."

Frowning, Shadow decided to do just that, and laid out her sleeping bag as a cushion. Griffy hopped out of his sidecar and made himself a spot next to her.

Smirking at her friend, Shadow was about to ask him something when she noticed Piper drop her bag and stand ramrod straight.

"Uhhh Piper, you ok over there? You're acting like you sat on a pin or something."

"Shhh!" Looking around with narrowed eyes, Piper leaned her head to one side.

"Did any of you hear that?" She asked skeptically.

Rondana looked up from her book with a raised eyebrow. "Hear what?"

"I could have sworn I heard…singing?" She replied furrowing her brows.

"If someone was singing in here, I think we all would have heard it Piper. You're probably just a bit shook up from the storm. Sometimes I've heard stuff when I'm coming down from a rush like that; I don't think it's anything to worry about."

"Yeah, besides, with those ears you know she would have heard it!" Shadow shouted before breaking into a small fit of laughs.

Marina's nose twitched, but she ignored the remark and went back to checking her skimmer for any damage the sand could have inflected on it last night or in the storm.

Turning from the others Piper tried to focus her hearing, but only heard the sounds coming from the others. _"I know what I heard, and I heard singing. It almost sounded like back at the arena when Kai fought Naboroou….but…not quite the same. It was actually beautiful."_

Shaking her head, Piper accepted that there was nothing she could do right now, but she would be on alert from now on.

Clearing her throat, Tigger approached Kai and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hmm? Look I offered you the chicken and you turned it down. It's a bit late to be making any take backs and," Tigger cut him off before he could continue.

"It's not about the food, I was just wondering if you would mind taking care of the internal repairs while I finish up topside."

Kai looked at her slightly confused. "You sure? Yesterday you said to keep away from doing anything cause you didn't trust my work."

With an aggravated sigh Tigger answered. "Yes Kai, I am sure. I have a bad feeling about this terra and think we should be ready for anything. I can give the ship a better once over when we get somewhere that's not a hundred and ten at five in the morning."

In truth, Tigger _didn't _have a bad feeling, but since Kai seemed to be the type that always listened to his instincts, she figured that he would buy it.

"Huh, I didn't feel anything, but I guess it never hurts to be prepared," Kai said with a shrug.

As soon as Kai's form disappeared down the corner, Tigger began rubbing her hands together with an evil smirk. "Now we'll see just what little miss perfect has been hiding from us." Spinning on her heel, she hopped onto the lift that went to the ships topside.

Wiping her brow on the backside of her sleeve, Starling surveyed her work with a satisfied smile.

"Not to shabby if I do say so myself."

Just as she was about to turn she heard Tigger's voice and nearly jumped.

Key word _nearly_.

"Where'd you learn to do patch work like that?"

Remaining calm, but mentally berating herself for getting caught off guard _again_, Starling responded.

"Back on Mesa, when I was little. It was one of the ways I used to make money before being knighted."

"One of the ways?" Tigger asked skeptically.

"Yes, _one_ of the ways. You don't seriously believe that I made enough to live on just by baby sitting did you?"

That one had her stumped.

"Well, actually, I kinda did. I mean, the way Kai makes it sound the two of you were pretty much glued to the hip till after you got in the Interceptors."

To her surprise, Starling nodded her head and confirmed what she had just said.

"That's about right. He used to help me most of the time. Unless he was sick of course."

Pulling out her wrench and getting to work on one of the nearby panels, Tigger started her 'mission'.

_Flashback_

"Look, while we're gone, try to keep an eye on Starling and Kai. I know they want to help, but right now."

"Yeah yeah, I know Rondana, their in no shape to be doing anything. Don't worry about it, I'll keep an eye on them."

"There's one other…little thing, if you don't mind that is." The doctor said with a sly grin.

"Sure, shoot away."

"See if you can dig up anything on Kai and Starling's past. Piper wont spill anything juicy from Kai's little confession, but we can still go through her. Just don't come across as being nosey ok?"

"Hey! I resent that!" Tigger said before waving off her friend. "Don't worry about it. I'll see what I can do. But I'm not making any promises alright."

_Flashback end_

"So what else did you two do?" She asked almost offhandedly.

Chuckling, Starling went to work on a nearby section of exposed wiring and actually answered her question.

"Well, we couldn't exactly rake leaves since Mesa had very few trees around its town, and we couldn't shovel snow since it never did. That left us with mostly housekeeping work. Cleaning houses, mowing lawns, picking up groceries, and on rare occasion, small mechanical work, such as fixing a busted lawnmower."

"Sounds like you two were busy." Tigger replied. _"Ok, she's talking, you've got her opening up, now just don't do anything Kai or Piper would and tick her off or spook her,"_ she instructed herself mentally.

"Well, that's the way things were on Mesa….for me anyways."

Hearing her tone, Tigger decided to remain silent and see if the older woman would continue on her own.

For once, since she had joined this mission, luck was on her side.

"Kai didn't need the money…and he actually gave most of it to me at the end of each day, but even with his help, it was pretty hard just getting by."

"_That's right, I forgot, she was orphaned when she was like, ten. She had to try and provide for and take care of herself for all those years."_ Taking a deep breath, and hoping that her run of luck would continue, Tigger pushed the matter slightly.

"How did you do it?"

The older woman turned to her with a critical eye. "Do what?"

Schooling her face to be as calm as possible, Tigger looked up and met her eye to eye.

"How did you do it? How did you survive on your own for all those years? I don't think I could have," Tigger replied softly.

Starling starred at her for several long seconds before going back to work.

"Like I said. It was not easy. I was bloody lucky to get that job as Kai's babysitter." The older woman paused for a moment as she fit the wires back into the panel they had been pulled from.

"I had had nothing to eat for several days, and my house lacked running water or electricity at the time. So I took advantage of everything that came my way. After Kai's mother left in the morning I would shower, when I did their laundry, I added my own, and since Kai was a growing boy, I helped myself to their food."

Tigger's eyes widened.

"You were using him the whole time? I thought you were his friend?!" Tigger nearly shouted with more than just a hint of hostility.

Starling's face darkened slightly as her bangs hid her eyes from view.

"For the first few days, yes, I did use him. What other choice did I have? Starve to death? Go without bathing? I was a half starved, frightened ten year old girl that had just lost her parents. I needed help but I was too proud to just take what would have been given to me had I asked."

Seeing the purple haired Sky Knight trembling slightly, Tigger feared she had screwed up majorly and was about to apologize, when she continued.

"It wasn't until a few days had passed that my mind….healed enough to come out of that frenzied state, but when it did, I was ashamed of what I had done. Here I was taking advantage of someone half my age that had gone through something almost exactly the same as myself. Someone that had not only fought to keep me there, but had covered for me, and took the blame when his mother questioned why so much food was missing or why the water bill had mysteriously gone up."

Shaking her head, the older woman went back to work silently.

"_Oh no, she is not dropping me off here! She just left me with even more questions than I had to start with!"_

Clearing her throat, Tigger spoke up. "You said the first few days, what happened after that?"

Pausing for a moment, Starling didn't answer her, but once she resumed working, she also resumed speaking.

"After about a week or so, I…fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up, Kai was curled up beside me and had thrown a blanket on top of me. I was surprised at first, but then…then I started to think back, and I remembered everything else that had happened that week. Everything had been a blur before, since my mind was focused solely on survival. But I started remembering little things, things like how he had eaten so little, and tried to sneak food onto my plate without my noticing. Little things that hadn't seemed to add up at the time."

Tigger was floored at what she was hearing. She knew that Kai always seemed to pick up on things, no matter how tiny they were, but for him to be so perceptive at a young age?

"He of course felt me move and woke up himself, but do you know what the first thing he said was?"

Tigger found enough sense of mind to shake her head 'no'.

"He asked me if I was still cold. He had seen me shivering in my sleep and dragged his quilt to cover me."

Tigger, needing to break the tense atmosphere, spoke up.

"Sound like he hasn't changed all that much to me," she offered.

Starling nodded as she worked with her back to the younger girl.

"And he's still just as dense as he was then," she added.

To her surprise, Starling giggled. Not laugh, giggle.

"I'm afraid you're right about that as well," she said warmly.

Kai's eyes narrowed after blowing his nose. "Great, so not only do they stink, but I'm allergic to them too? I haven't sneezed that bad since helping clean out mom's attic." He muttered before sneezing again. "Blasted bugs, never cut you any slack."

"So that's when you decided to be his friend?" Tigger asked, knowing she was pushing her luck, but not willing to let this chance get away from her until it was as used as the Rock Hearts Carriers and skimmers.

"Not exactly," Starling said slowly. "I never actually decided to be his friend; it would be more accurate to say he decided for himself that he was my friend."

Tigger shot her an odd look, clearly asking for more detail.

"It's almost like he was a cat. He found me and chose to 'adopt' me as 'his'. Nothing I did or said short of moving to another terra would have changed his mind, and even then I have doubts," Starling said with a small hint of humor in her voice.

"Don't you mean 'you' were the cat and he adopted you?" Tigger asked confused.

Starling shook her head. "I take it you've never had a cat before have you?" Seeing Tigger's confused look intensify, she continued. "People don't adopt cats, the cat adopts the person or family it lives with. If it doesn't like you, it won't matter how much you try to give it, it will either ignore you or avoid you. On the other hand, if it does like you, then you're hard pressed to get away from it."

Tigger thought it over, it was true that she had heard stuff like that before, but she had just chalked it up to 'animal lovers' spouting off about how wonderful their cat or dog or whatever was.

"Anyways, after that first week we did become closer, almost to the point of siblings. We both had parts of our heart ripped away from us, and we tried to fill them in as best we could for each other. I had lost my parents and had no one to look out for me; he had lost his best friend and had nobody to look up to."

"_Hmmm, I wonder….is that the way she still sees's it now?"_

"When did things…change?" Tigger asked carefully.

That made her flinch.

"I can't talk about that, you'd have to ask Kai," she replied almost coldly.

"No no no no! Not THAT, I mean when did you two stop being close friends? I know your still friends now; I was just wondering…you know…" Tigger said meekly, hoping she hadn't just snapped the cookie jar shut on her hand.

Starling seemed to think it over for a few seconds, and then shrugged.

"Why not, I've already told you more than I've told that blasted shrink the Council sent me to."

Tigger of course filled that little tidbit away for later.

"I guess we started drifting apart when I went to the Academy, to train as a Sky Knight. We wrote to each other quite a bit at first,…..but then…well….I got so busy that…I just didn't have the time to write back."

"Wait a minute, he kept writing to you, but you were to busy to write back to him?" Tigger asked skeptically.

"Look, it's not something I'm proud of ok? In my first month there I was found to have a high aptitude for close quarter's combat and stealth, so they gave me the choice of entering special ops training. Of course I accepted it, but I had no idea at the time just how much more training was involved. I had to get up at four in the morning, and train until close to ten at night, every day, Monday through Sunday, for an entire year. No breaks, no vacations, no rest."

"_Training? That sounds more like torture to me."_

"Well, what about when you came back?" She asked carefully.

Seeing Starling's form slump, she knew this had to be a key point where things had started going down hill.

"Tigger, you must realize that special ops training is meant for specific missions, ones that are very risky and require precision of the upmost degree. To do this, it is important that as many obstacles or hindrances to the mission be removed as possible."

Tigger knew right then and there, that she was not going to like what she was about to hear.

"That is why, only orphans are chosen for that type of training. People that have no family or close attachments. People that….can do without….their emotions."

Tigger felt her heart stop cold.

"So what's for lunch today? More sand filled oatmeal? Or how about sand filled soup like last night?" Shadow said sarcastically as she scratched Griffy's chin.

"You're complaining about sand getting in your food in the middle of a desert?" Marina asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey! Not my fault you're used to it! I grew up in the sticks, but at least our food was clean!" Shadow barked back crossing her arms. Griffy made a sound of irritation at his scratching session having been stopped, but gave up when he figured it was a waste of his time.

Piper just shook her head at the scene. _"Figures. Just when I thought she was growing up, she goes and proves me wrong again."_

"_Oh like your not thinking the exact same thing?"_

Piper narrowed her eyes.

"_You again? I thought you were just some heat induced hallucination?"_

She could feel the grin coming from the 'new' Piper she had just found the other day.

"_Nope! I'm as real as you are! And I'm not going anywhere,"_ she said teasingly.

"Great, now I've got a voice stuck in my head. Maybe Aerrow was right, Kai is a hazard to people's health, physical and mental," she muttered.

Just then she could have sworn that she felt somebody bop her on the head.

"_Hey! That's our friend you're talking about! Be nice!"_

Feeling an oncoming headache, Piper started to prepare lunch herself.

"_Hopefully you'll go away after I get some food in me,"_ Piper thought.

Of course the giggle she heard in the back of her head told her otherwise.

"Looks like its sand filled soup again after all," she muttered.

Rondana looked up from her book with a smile. "I'll take some if you don't mind."

Piper shrugged her shoulders before dumping a second can of soup into the pot.

Smiling, Rondana dived back into her book. _"Arazona Indigo, when will you figure it out? The princess is just using you to get back the sacred idol! She'll probably try to sacrifice you when you bring it back to her!" _

"Wait a minute, you're telling me, that they …they strip away a persons emotions? Is that even legal?"

Starling surprised her by snorting.

"I'm starting to believe that legal or not matters very little when it comes to the Council. But yes, that is what they do. Since the person has no living family, they usually have nobody, and nothing to think about other than training. Couple that with living conditions that are nearly identical to solitary confinement in a prison and nonstop grueling training and that is the end result. The person loses touch with what makes them human and most if not all interpersonal skills they once had."

Tigger studied the older woman for a moment. Something wasn't adding up.

"_She said that she went through that training, but…does she fake emotion? I know it's possible to do, but.."_

"You don't seem to be lacking any emotion in my book. You're a bit guarded, but that's not much of a surprise coming from a Sky Knight."

Closing the panel behind her, Starling turned to face the younger girl with a face that showed a mixture of sadness with just a hint of happiness. Without a doubt, it was one of the strangest facial expressions she had ever seen.

"Because I'm not. Remember what I told you? I didn't have time to write back to Kai, but he kept writing to me. I read every one of those letters he sent me; I even managed to save a few after….after Mesa's fall."

Now she was even more confused. _"Ok Tigger, thinking cap on! She said they chose orphans because they don't have family, the training she went through removes a person's emotions, but hers weren't. And somehow Kai fits into all this? What's the link?"_ A few seconds passed, and her eyes widened.

"The letters! It was contact with another person! Even if you didn't see him or talk to him, you were still in contact with him!"

Starling nodded her head. "That is correct Tigger. Although I did not make it through the training completely unscathed I'm afraid. When I returned to Mesa, I was…different from before I left. I hadn't expressed much in the way of emotion other than frustration and anger for close to a year. So even though the others had survived, those emotions had suffered atrophied from disuse you could say."

Groaning, Tigger hit the back of her head on one of the raised panels behind her.

"And knowing Kai, he was bouncing off the walls when you came back."

Starling nodded sadly. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that things must have been pretty rough for awhile.

"Look, I know I've made some mistakes in the past. I'm not completely blameless with the way our friendship has turned out to be, but I'm hoping to at least salvage part of it, something, anything. Time….and occurrence have this nasty little habit of changing things, no matter how much we may wish they could remain the same. I'll never be able to have what I once had with him, but I'll take what I can get. Just….don't think that I hate him, or blame him, entirely."

Tigger had to force down her smile and be as solemn as she could at hearing this.

"I won't, but make sure he's the one that knows that ok?"

With a small smile on her face, Starling nodded and went to the front of the ship, where she continued working.

Several feet away, under an open access hatch, dull golden eyes opened slowly before their owner walked away as though nothing had happened.

One bright green eye peeked out from behind the safety of a stalagmite.

"_They're armed, all of them. But why would they be here? There is nothing left of any value….unless…are they looking for me?"_

The head bulled back and the figure leaded against the wall of rock nervously. Then, turned and crept down the pitch black passage silently.

"_They must be after me. But, who are they? And why are they after me?"_

Griffy stirred from his sleep and looked around the dimly lit cave.

"Wha's matter?"

Looking up at Shadow's half awake face; Griffy tapped his beak, and then motioned to the area of the cave in front of them.

Shadow's mind was still buried in the depths of slumber, but she recognized the way Griffy was acting immediately.

Getting up as quietly as she could, she pulled her crystal ax free from her holster and a glow crystal from her pocket.

"Stay quite ok? I'll go check it out."

Nodding his head, Griffy watched as Shadow crept down the cave and out of sight. After a few seconds passed, he got up and followed.

Nighttime had arrived and the remaining trio found themselves in the ships galley eating dinner. Tigger ate nervously as she watched the ships other two occupants eat in silence.

"_How can three people be in the same room eating, and it still be as quiet as a graveyard?"_ She thought. She had thought that Kai and Starling had patched things up that morning, but evidently she was wrong. The two ate in silence while once every now and then shooting the others a quick glance.

This was not unusual on Kai's part. Tigger knew that was normal for him. But for Starling? The woman might not be the most personable individual she had ever met, but she had never acted like this before.

"I'm going to take a shower. I'll see you tomorrow," she said quickly excusing herself after finishing her meal.

Mulling the situation over, Tigger couldn't tell if it was a blessing or a curse.

On the one hand, she now had a chance to try and grill Kai for more information, on the other; she had to be careful that she didn't let anything that Starling had told her slip out.

It only took her a few seconds to decide however, as luck seemed to be with her today.

"_Ok, I can't start asking him questions about his past or he'll clam up. I need something that he'll actually answer, but won't seem to….snoopy."_ A small grin spread across her face as an idea came to her.

Pushing her glasses up, Tigger leaned back and let out a sigh.

"You alright?" Kai asked looking up at her.

Pushing back her grin, Tigger mentally gave herself a pat on the back. _"Like shooting sky fish in a bucket."_

"Hmm? Oh, yeah…I'm alright…I guess."

Kai leaned forward and rested he's arms on the table. "What's up? Homesick?"

"_Actually, that'll work."_

"Yeah, just a little. How'd you know?"

Kai grinned. "Oh come on. I'm not that dense. Besides, you sleep talk."

Turning slightly red, Tigger stuttered. "I I I I do not!"

With a toothy grin, Kai leaned forward, and in a perfect imitation of her voice, started speaking. "Oh Aladd, my love for you is as deep as the great sky's."

Now bright red from a mixture of embarrassment and anger, Tigger huffed.

"At least I've got a boyfriend," she said pouting.

Kai snorted. "Uh, guy, remember!" He said before letting out a few laughs. Seeing Tigger's face turn an even darker shade or red, however he stopped and gave her a warm smile.

"You know I'm just teasing you. But seriously, you do talk in your sleep."

Huffing, Tigger turned away from Kai, refusing to respond.

Sighing, Kai chuckled. "Hey, I might not like him, but if it makes you happy, that's what's important right? Just as long as he doesn't try anything funny or hurts you…again."

Rolling her eyes, Tigger finally relented. "I don't need your help with dating….mother," she said dryly.

This time it was Kai's turn to pout. "I'm not your mother….I'm your big brother, and I'm just doing my job."

"Oh? And what might that be?" Tigger asked with a slight grin.

"Protecting you from idiots and perverts of course." He shot back quickly.

"You're doing a pretty lousy job then if you let Aladd get by," she said laughing.

"Hey, he snuck in before my shift started. Sides, I would have tossed him out if you didn't keep protecting him," Kai pointed out.

"Awww, well thank you big brother," she said sweetly as she smiled.

That warm smile however quickly changed into a predatory grin. One that Kai found eerily familiar.

"_Oh no, not this again,"_ he groaned.

"So when's big brother going to settle down? Your not getting any younger you know.

Kai's left eye twitched. "I'm nineteen, that's not old."

"Actually it is. I mean, I know plenty of people your age that are married and have at least one kid on the way," she said tapping her chin as she looked up at the ceiling.

"Hey! I'm not that old! I'm not!"

Tigger leaned forward and squinted her eyes. "Is that a grey?" She asked calmly.

Again, Kai's eyebrow twitched. "I'm young, I'm hip, and I'm with it! And I do not have grey hair!"

"I think it is. Actually, I see a couple," she said reaching forward.

Kai lightly smacked away her hand and leaned back.

"If I have any greys, you guys gave them to me," he muttered.

"_Ok Tigger, you've got him on the defense, now, FORWARD!"_ In her mind, she saw a great fortress with high walls, a moat, and a raised draw bridge being guarded by a fierce dragon. She herself was riding on a horse leading a large army that all looked suspiciously like Tom Cruse charging said fortress.

"Hey hey, no pressure. Just because you're fifteen year old little sister has already found her souls other half, while you've never even been on a date, is no reason to feel bad," she teased.

Slowly raising a single eyebrow, Kai's face grew a large smirk of its own. One that just screamed 'I know something you don't!'

"Who ever said I've never been on a date?"

With slow, purposeful steps, Shadow sneaked down the dimly lit cave. She had thought that she was lost for sure when her glow crystal died out on her, but was shocked to see a path of faintly glowing crystals on the caves ceiling. She followed it back to camp, and after she was sure that the others were still out cold, went back to see where they led.

The tunnels seemed to go on for miles, but it could have just been that she was tired and her mind made it seem that way.

Once or twice she could have sworn that she heard something moving ahead, but it was always out of her field of vision.

Finally, she saw something.

Rather, someone.

She was about to call out when she heard the person speak.

"I know it's been awhile. I'm sorry that I haven't visited," came a soft female voice.

"_There's more of them? This is bad!"_ Just as she turned to leave, she heard the voice continue.

"I miss you….but...you knew this would happen….you knew it from the very beginning."

Stopping, she turned back and decided to listen a bit more. It was almost like something didn't want her to leave.

"I…I'll never be able to thank you enough…for everything….I wish…..I wish we could still….be together….but…you knew…it wouldn't last."

"_It sounds like…she's talking to…"_

Looking down, she saw a faint blue glow from under her shirt, and felt a strange warmness. Reaching inside her neckline, she pulled out her necklace, and was surprised to see the Griffin stone glowing faintly, bathing her in an icy blue light.

"_What is this?"_

"Of all the things we faced….I guess, time was the only one we could never defeat…no matter how strong we were back them."

Swallowing a large lump in her throat, Shadow stepped forward.

"Oh come on! You're the single most reclusive and evasive person I've ever met! There is no way you've got a girlfriend!"

Kai leaned back and closed his eyes. The only proof that he was awake being the smug grin on his face as he listened to Tigger vent.

"Finished?" He asked with mock politeness.

"Yes," she replied crossing her arms.

"Now, you are right, I don't have a girlfriend, but you forget that I wasn't always like this. I've only been in hiding, and working for Arygyn for a little over a year now. But before that, I did have a life beyond training."

"Ok, so who was she?"

Again, Kai raised his eyebrow. "This is your business how?"

"You're no fun," she said before sticking out her tongue.

"Fine, I'll humor you, but only if you answer my question first. Why?"

"Why what?" She asked twirling a lock of hair on her finger.

"Why do you care? Why does my personal life seem to be such an interesting topic with you six?"

"Duh! We're girls! Gossip is to us what belching is to guys." Tigger replied smoothly.

"You establish an order of dominance and order of command through gossip?" He asked more than just a little stunned.

"What?"

Shaking his head, Kai sighed. "Fine."

"_Establish an order of dominance and order of command? Do they really? Naaa, he's joking…..right?"_

"There were a few, but the only one that went anywhere was Pellegri. There, does that answer your question?" He asked tiredly.

"Pellga who?"

She was surprised to see Kai blink like someone had just hit him upside the head with a beach ball.

"You actually don't know who Pellegri is?"

Tigger shook her head.

"Blond, acts a little on the ditzy side, kinda like Piper but without the crystal obsession?"

Again, Tigger shook her head.

"Second in command and number two wingman for the Rex Guardians?"

Tigger's eyes widened.

"YOU DATED HARRIER'S FANGIRL!"

Kai winced. Geeze, can you shout that a little louder? I don't think Lark heard you."

"But…but…but she's an idiot! A complete airhead!"

Kai frowned. "She's still my friend, so I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about her like that." Seeing her still shocked face, he groaned. "She's not that bad, honestly."

"Yes! Yes she is! Whenever I get dragged to one of those godforsaken squad meets I'm stuck listening to her go on and on about how great he is and how much everyone can learn from him.

Kai snorted, and then broke out laughing.

"That's because she has no other choice!" He said laughing.

"What?"

"Tigger, she acts like that when she's in public because the media watches the Rex Guardians like a hawk. They're the Councils propaganda machine. Trust me; she's not really like that."

Seeing her 'yeah right' look, Kai laughed.

"Look, it's no small secret that I burn the ground that Harrier walks on, so why would I even think about going out with _his_ wingman if I didn't have good reason to overlook _that_?"

"I don't know, uh, to get back at him for some reason?"

Kai's eyes narrowed into a glare and a scowl flashed across his face.

"Tigger, I would never, ever, fool around with someone's emotions like that. I'm cynical, not cruel."

"Ok, fine, I apologize," Tigger said raising her hands in defeat. "But you're going to have to back that one up," she added.

Grinning, Kai leaned back. "Well, first of all, she's a master of Sky Fu, that's how we met actually."

"You met her in a fight?"

Kai flinched and seemed more than just a little uncomfortable, but continued. "Not exactly. She was one of my….instructors. She taught me a few Bá Bù steps as well as Lǐng Lù stances when I…stayed on terra Rex."

_Record scratch_

"You lived on terra Rex?"

"Look, just….drop it for now ok? Another time maybe, but not right now."

Tigger again raised her hands in defeat, signaling Kai to continue.

"Anyways, she was one of my…instructors, and we just kind of…hit it off."

"If you hit if off, what happened?" Tigger asked curiously.

"Wellll…we just….decided that it didn't work out," Kai said uneasily.

"Uh huh, she dumped you didn't she?"

Kai nodded. "Oh yeah, big time. But, we're still friends…at least I think we are…it's been awhile, hiding out from the Council and all ya know," he said darkly.

"Well, why did you stop trying?"

"_That's it Tigger, go in for the kill!"_

Kai shot her a deadpan look.

"Oh yeah, I can see the ad now. Single renegade outlaw on run from Free Atmos seeks accomplice with possible romantic potential. Must be willing to endure random excursions for unknown lengths of time to distant terras and explore lost temples and forgotten cities. Also must be willing to live on the run from Sky Knight's, Cyclonian's and occasional Murk Raider incursions. Cooking and cleaning skills appreciated but not required. Who'd want to date a pirate on the run from the law?"

Tigger's jaw dropped.

"Kai…that's like, the fantasy of every teenage girl that has ever lived!"

Groaning, Kai rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to be realistic here. Being associated with me hazardous to ones health and lethal for their career."

"So, then why not someone that would be willing, _and_ able?"

Kai shot Tigger a 'don't push it' look, but she ignored it.

"There are people out there that can deal with that kind of lifestyle; you just have to look for them."

"Tigger, I'm not interested, I answered your question, now drop it."

"What's the matter? Chicken?"

"I'm not taking your bait again Tigger. Twice is enough for one night."

"Wait a minute, you knew?"

Kai chuckled. "I think your forgetting just who you're talking too."

Rising to leave, Kai turned to her one last time. "Look, I know what you're doing, but I'm not what she wants, or what she needs. Tell the others to stop this little game of theirs before one of you does something foolish."

"_Snap! How'd he know?!"_

"You knew all along?"

"I do now," Kai said grinning.

"You mean..you…I just…but….AAAAGGHHH YOU LITTLE!" Leaping from her seat, Tigger tackled Kai to the floor with speed that surprised even him.

"What did you mean by that?" She asked narrowing her eyes.

"Which part?"

"Oh no you don't, Piper told me all about that little trick." Seeing his eyes narrow, she continued. "It was the only thing we could get out of Piper the night you finally moved out of our room. I know how you try to shift people off a topic you don't want to talk about, but I'm not letting you, not this time." She said with a serious tone.

Closing his eyes, Kai rose up as though he were doing a sit up, then rolled partially to his side before standing up straight. Then taking hold of her small wrists, he effortlessly peeled her arms off of his shoulders and set her on the ground.

"_He did that without any trouble at all? What is he?"_

"I'm going to tell you this one time, and one time only. So you had better listen very, _very_ carefully, ok?"

Seeing her nod, he lowered himself to face level with her, and spoke. "First of all, I'm not even sure that I'm still….human, and no, I'm not going to elaborate on that. Secondly, a few years back, I asked Starling what she was looking for in a person were she ever to settle down, and you know what she said?"

Tigger felt a small amount of fear pass through her as Kai spoke. His voice was cold and emotionless, and she felt like he was looking right through her. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was within an inch of losing his cool.

"She told me that she would, and I quote, 'Fancy a writer, or perhaps an author. That she wishes to live a quiet simple life, away from the hustle and bustle of adventure and away from the madness of war.' That is not something I will ever have, nor will ever be able to give anyone."

"My lot in life is to act like a worried mother over a bunch of squabbling children that wish nothing more than to remove the other from this plain of existence. That is why I have cut most, if not all ties with everyone I know, and why I focus completly on my job. I can think of no person on this planet that I hate enough to condemn such a life on, let alone a friend. Now, this is your last warning, drop it."

Tigger nodded her head and swallowed quickly. After Kai left the room, she leaned against the wall and sunk to the floor.

"_That was the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life. And I've been to Oblivion,"_ she thought as she tried to calm her breathing.

"Great, now what do I tell the others?"

"_That Kai isn't as dumb as he acts and not to tick him off, duh!"_ The entire situation seemed odd to her though. _"Why was he so…angry? No, that wasn't anger…what was it?"_ Knowing that this battle was beyond lost, she decided to run what she had learned over until the others returned.

"_Things just got a lot more complicated,"_ she thought as she tapped the back of her head on the wall behind her.

"Mmmm, Aerrow…" Opening one eye, Piper saw Radarr wrapped in her arms and tapping his fingers patiently. Seeing that she was awake, he gave her a look that said, 'You can let go of me anytime now.'

Chuckling uneasily she loosened her gripe and he quickly pulled free. After brushing himself off and cracking his bones back into place, she watched as he dragged himself over to where their fire had been last night and plopped down.

Piper smiled as she unpacked her breakfast supplies. Last night she had a rather good dream. It had actually felt so real that she thought it was until she had woken up.

"_I hope it's one of those series type dreams I get sometimes. I have no complaints with picking that one up where it left off."_ Piper thought happily.

"_You and me both sister! Seeing Aerrow working out like that in the gym, then sparring with him, __**growl**__."_

Piper's eye twitched. _"Shut up brain before I stab you with a Q-tip."_

"_Hey, I'm just saying it was a nice….view to some prime real-estate, that's all,"_ 'new' Piper replied before bursting into a fit of laughs.

"Your as bad as Shadow, I swear," Piper said before looking around. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

Marina rolled out of her sleeping bag when she heard Piper's voice.

"Something wrong?"

"Yeah, Shadow's missing; did you see or hear her leave?"

"I saw her get up last night, but I thought she was just going to use the bathroom," Rondana replied sleepily.

"How long ago was that?"

Rondana shook her head. "I don't know, I don't have a watch, it was quite some time ago though. I was sure that she would be back soon, so I went back to sleep."

"I don't like this," Piper said before cupping her hands together. "SHADOW! Where are you?!" She shouted.

_Blast blast_

"That was crystal fire!" Rondana shouted.

Marina and Piper both pulled their weapons free and ran towards the source of the sound. Rondana grabbed her medkit and weapon before following.

They heard several more blasts of weapons fire, then,

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"That was Shadow! She's hurt!" Piper screamed as her running speed suddenly increased.

Marian and Rondana looked at each other, then back at Piper's quickly disappearing form.

"Since when could she run like that?" Marina asked in surprise.

"Don't look at me! I've never seen anyone move that fast before!" Rondana shouted almost tripping. "Come on, we need to catch up! If Shadow's in trouble, then Piper's going to get there first, and then they'll both need our help!"

Marina nodded and put as much umph into her step as she could, pushing her tired and still not awake body to its limit.

"_That scream, Shadow's hurt, but…why don't I hear blaster fire anymore?" _Piper thought as she barreled down the cave.

She then heard a strange sound. The closest thing she could think of was when two clothes were held together by static electricity and you peeled them apart. The sound continued for several seconds, getting louder in intensity before it reached its limit.

_BLLLLAAAAAST_

The next thing she heard was a hissing roar, followed by a large explosion.

Piper nearly tripped over her own feet as the cavern shook from the power of the explosion. She found her footing however and continued without slowing down.

"_Shadow, please be ok!"_

"Ugghh."

"Shhh. You're injured, don't try to move ok?"

Shadow did the only thing she could, and nodded her head tiredly.

"You're friends are coming, but their not going to make it in time."

Shadow blinked her eyes and let out a groaning whine. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the person looking down at her. She couldn't see much since the light was so dim, but she could make out what appeared to be body armor of some sort. Judging by the voice, she thought it might be a girl close to her age, but everything was just so fuzzy, she couldn't tell.

Slowly, the person knelt down on their knees beside her, and placed both hands on her back.

"Ahh!"

"Shhh sh sh sh, I know it hurts, but it'll be alright soon, I promise."

Hearing Shadow cry out in pain a second time, Piper pushed herself even harder. Taking long, smooth strides, she easily jumped over anything in her path.

"_Hang in there Shadow, I'm coming!"_

Were the situation not so serious, she would have been amazed at how fast she was running, but right now, her thoughts were focused on her friend, and reaching her as fast as possible.

"_Wait a minute, there it is again! That song! It's the same as before!"_

Just as she had the day before, Piper heard the ghostly melody echo through the cave. It started off with a low cry that steadily rose in volume before lowering, then rising again.

"_That's a woman's voice, but it's not the same as before."_

Thinking back to the song she heard at the arena with Kai, she tried to see if she could understand it.

"_It's not the same song as the one from the arena, but…it's just as sad. Why is such a beautiful voice singing such a sad song?"_

"_Because even someone whose voice is beautiful can feel pain."_

"_What?"_

"_Think about it, a song is an expression of emotion. This is a song of the Ancients, just like with Kai back at the arena, or when he fought the Virage."_

"_So…what? I don't understand it. I can read Ancient, but I don't speak it well enough to understand it!"_ Piper chided her 'new' side.

"_Then don't try to understand it, try to feel it."_

"_I…don't understand."_

_Sigh_

"_Look, a song, is an expression of emotion right?"_

Piper ran the thought over as she jumped over several mid sized boulders in her path.

"_I..guess so…but what do you mean feel it?"_

"_What I mean is STOP THINKING! Don't try to figure it out. Not everything in life is a puzzle, and even if it is, not every puzzle is meant to be solved! Don't think, feel!"_

Decided that it might be better to try and do what 'new' Piper was telling her to, Piper focused on the song itself instead of the words.

"_It…it sounds sad."_

She could feel 'new' Piper smile.

"_Good, now, feel it a little more. Why does it feel sad? What emotion is it using as a carrier?"_

Focusing on the song again, Piper felt a slight pain in her chest, like she had been stabbed, or shot.

"_It's pain."_

'New' Piper nodded her head.

"_Now you're getting it. We'll talk again later ok? Right now you need to focus on helping Shadow."_ With that, the mental image of 'new' Piper disappeared, leaving Piper alone with her thoughts.

"_The song, it stopped. But…is that a good thing….or a bad thing?"_

Coming to a skidding stop in a large, half lit room, Piper made her decision.

"_Bad, it's definitely a bad thing!"_

There, in the middle of the room, lay Shadow, still as a rock, with Griffy lying beside her and looking back to Piper.

"Oh my God, she's hurt bad. MARINA! RONDANA! HURRY UP!" Looking back down, she felt her breathing speed up and a lead weight drop in her stomach.

In the center of Shadow's back was a large visible hole in the flight suit. Even worse, there was blood.

A lot, of blood.

Piper's voice echoed throughout the cavern, blistering with pain, anger, and rage.

"SHADOW!"

A short distance away, a lone figure watched with a small smile. Sliding her one drawn sword back into the scabbard on her back, she calmly walked down the dark, lightless cavern.

"Hopefully now."

Taking one last look back, the figure waved its right hand and watched as a wall of crystal rose up and covered the path she had taken shut.

"They will leave me be."

End chapter 11

Ok, show of hands, how many people out there want to kill me right now?

(Ducks bricks and rocks thrown)

Hey, I told you this one was a rollercoaster, but believe me when I say I'm not going to leave you hanging like this every time. I've been planning on a few specific parts of this story since I started writting it, and this was one of them. As for the Sky Fu Kai mentioned, its part of the Gu Ruzhang curriculum of Northern Shaolin kung fu. I've done a bit of research, and have come up with individual styles of martial arts for most of the squadrons in Storm Hawks based on the characters in that squad. That will be incorporated into my and Arashi21's future work.


	12. Past Pains, Future Gains!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 12: Past Pains, Future Gains!

AN: Ok, I'm BACK! (Ducks glass bottles, bricks and rocks) Hey, if you guys don't stop, then I'll stop posting! (Ducks thrown cat) Ok ok ok! Here it is sheesh. I'm that THAT evil am I?

Audience: YES YOU ARE!

Uh, ignore them. Anyways, I know I left you guys (and girls) on one heck of a cliffy last time, but this time around, things are going to be different. (snickers) Quite a bit will be revealed. I'll warn you all right now that one character is going to get dragged through the mud for a while, but I have my reasons. Also, despite it being my all time favorite episode, I've never actually seen the last five minutes of 'Storm Hawks Seven' so I had to wing it. (No pun intended)

Also don't forget check out Arashi21's new story: Fighting Wings! Which ties in with the Winds of Change serie, but is told through the eyes of Kestrel!

Oh, and in case anyone didn't know, I still accept anon reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

Morning came quickly to the trio, or rather, too quickly for their taste. After a silent breakfast, they went their separate ways once again and went back to work fixing the battered freighter that served as their base of operations.

Starling went to work on fixing the ships outer hull, since it was the one thing she actually felt comfortable working on. Tigger was taking care of anything mechanical in nature; since it was her specialty and was the most important part needing repair.

And Kai…well, both Starling and Tigger saw fit that he finish rewiring the systems. This was because it was mostly easy, and neither one of them wanted to do it. But most importantly, since Kai had built the ship, he was the only one that actually knew how. The fact that it also meant he would be on his knees and back for hours on end and in tight cramped conditions served as a bonus (for the girls).

All three were focusing mostly on the work at hand, but not entirely. They each had other matters weighing on their minds.

Sighing, Starling shook her head as she closed yet another panel. Most of the ships topside was now finished, and she knew the bottom was relatively undamaged. This left her with the sides, which she knew she could have finished by the end of the day.

"_Why did I open up like that? I know that I can trust Tigger, but I hardly even know her."_

Pulling down her visor, Starling cut on the welding rig and started by fixing the smaller holes first.

"_I told her things that I've never told anyone, even Kai. And yet, I've spoken with the boy who works the fly through at Sky Burger more times than I've spoken with her."_

Despite being generally friendly in nature, Starling was hardly one that people would call 'open' with others. Her past, combined with her training made it more than just a little difficult for her to openly express her thoughts or feelings on any subject other than fighting. So for her to willingly lower her defenses, even for just a little while was extremely confusing to her.

And, if she was being completely honest, she would have also admitted that it frightened her quite a bit too.

Growing up, it had been just her and her parents, and then it was just her and Kai. But for the second part of her life (everything after being knighted) it had largely been just her. She had her squadron, that was true, and Kai was still there, as well as Suzi, but things were different. As a child, she was shy, and hid behind a wall of fear. Now, as an adult, she was cold and hid behind a wall of duty. (Or so she told herself)

What was even more confusing was the fact the not only had she completely lowered her guard yesterday, but she actually felt better after doing so. The feeling that she received just from having Tigger listening to her brought back memories from long ago, memories she had completely forgotten about.

Between her dedication to her duty, and her desire to protect her friends, she had gotten used to keeping everyone at arms length, so that they wouldn't get hurt, or hurt her.

That night as she lay trying to fall asleep, she thought back and tried to remember if it had always been that way. As far as she could remember it was, she had been the same ever since a little after she turned sixteen. Not exactly cold, just a bit….cool towards others.

Then she remembered.

In the depths of her mind, in a place she hadn't visited since its creation, a single memory arose. One that caused her more pain than any other, including the loss of her parents.

There was a brief moment in time that she had not been wrapped up in her duty. A tiny fragment in her life where she had once again become her original self.

It had been five years since she was knighted. For five years she was like a 'robot' as Kai had put it. True, she did express emotion, but those incidents were always few and far between. For the most part, she was passive, but after five very long years of trying, Kai had managed to break through the wall she had constructed while in training. Five years of aggravation and annoyance, five years of jokes, pranks, and in her own words, tomfoolery, he had managed to relight the tiny spark within her.

For one week, she was her normal self. The week before Kai's final attempt at the Sky Knight trials. She had enjoyed that week immensely, despite the effort it took to prove to her squadron that she was not under some form of mind control or had received a concussion of some sort; she had a genuine good time.

The day after Kai left for terra Atmosia however, that all changed. What was once a wonderful dream quickly transformed into a horrible nightmare.

Thunderclouds rolling in, lightning streaking across the sky. Rain poring down so hard it seemed to be trying to wash the terra itself away.

She could hear the crystal fire over the thunder and lightning. She could hear the panicked cries of the civilians as she took to the air, she could still smell the burning flames that forever changed the face of terra Mesa, and even taste the salt from the tears that streaked down her face. The assault on her senses was absolute, but by far, the worst attack, was the one on her eyes.

The sight of her squad mates, her friends, the only family she knew fall one by one, all by _his_ hand. It stabbed her deeper than any physical weapon could. What hurt the most of all however, was the knowledge of why they died. Seeing it pained her, but knowing why, scarred her, branded her for life.

"_Why? If they had just followed my orders, if they had followed the evacuation shuttles as I told them to…"_

Fist clinching, Starling punched the ships hull with all her might.

"_I wasn't worth it. Four lives aren't worth losing just to save one blast it!"_

Eye's wide, Starling was assaulted by a sudden flood of memories, memories she had locked away and forgotten completely.

Waking up under a pile of rubble, searing pain flashing through her system, a calm voice whispering words of comfort, black silence, a cry of anguish followed by worried shouts of her name, blackness, waking up to a clear night sky, feeling nothing, empty, a worried voice calling her name, blackness, an unfamiliar ceiling, her decision.

"_That….that was the last time I saw him."_

Starling felt her chest tighten at the memory. All but ordering Kai to leave her as she lay in a hospital bed. The look of pain and betrayal that flashed across his face before leaving, she had forgotten so much about that day.

The day she made her oath. To avenge her squadron, or join them trying.

Her next mission, the infiltration of terra Cyclonia was supposed to be a long term intelligence gathering operation. She had successfully snuck her way in, even making it to the position of throne room guard before Lark's first plan was put into motion.

She knew what she had to do, but someone else beat her to the punch. She had heard the rumors about the resurrection of the Storm Hawks, but only scoffed at the notion. Aerrow's knighting was a televised event, so she knew of it, but never could she have imagined him forming a squadron independently of the Councils doing. Even more surprising was the fact that a ragtag group of teenagers had invaded Cyclonia, something that up until then only she could claim. The mission was mostly a success in the Council's eyes, but to her, it was a complete success. Lark had been stopped, her operations temporarily halted, and the Aurora stone was destroyed. She and many of the other Sky Knights feared what would happen should it fall into the wrong hands. Now, that was impossible.

After that was the rescue mission she received, which she used to further her own goals. She could have completed the mission given her with no help at all, but for what she wanted to do, she knew she would need help. Suzi was out of the question, and at the time she had all but forgotten about Kai. That left her with only one option. The Storm Hawks.

Driven by her need for some form of revenge, she sought them out, and like she had Kai so many years ago, used their kindness and generosity for her own ends. It was difficult however, something prevented her from staying with them afterwards, from using them as she would any other tool, but she was unsure what it was. She had complete mastery over her mask, and only allowed emotion out when she deemed it safe or necessary at the time. She had fully intended on staying with them, and using them to further her goal of revenge, but something pushed her away, prevented her from carrying out that plan, and so she left confused, but sated for the time having reclaimed her shield.

A little over a month later, after resubjugating her emotions to her will, she found yet another excuse to meet with the fledgling band of wannabes. Polaris Point. Her mission was destroy the base stationed there, and, if possible destroy the mountain itself. She could have infiltrated it on her own, just as easily as she had terra Cyclonia, but for her to gain the tools needed for her revenge she would need to gain the kids trust. She knew that she had their respect, but they were very cautious for a group so young. (Something that annoyed her greatly then, but at the same time gave them quite a few marks in her book) So again she sought them out.

Again, the mission was a complete success on all counts. The base was destroyed and the terra had lost all strategic value. Even better, they finally opened up to her and welcomed her with open arms as though she was one of their own.

_Flashback_

"Today, we fly as the Storm Hawks seven!" Aerrow said pumping his fist into the air.

"Seven? But there are only six of you," Starling replied, suspecting her plan had worked, but not getting ahead of herself.

"You're one of us too," Aerrow replied before taking off.

Starling waited for a moment before grinning and taking off after them_. _

"_It worked," _she thought as her grin grew wider.

_Flashback end_

While pleased that her plan had worked, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. She dismissed the strange queasy sensation as her stomach attempting to digest the lunch she had been served earlier. But this proved to be false no more than an hour later.

_Flashback_

"What is this?" Starling asked as Aerrow opened the door to what she knew to be an empty room used for storage.

"This Starling, is your room," he replied as he pulled open the door and sweeping out his hand with a flourish.

"_They want me to stay? Then, that means…it worked! With their help, I will get my,"_ Starling's train of thought was thoroughly derailed when she caught sight of her reflection on the rooms mirror.

She saw herself, same as always, but it was what else she saw.

Them

On the opposite wall was a large poster of her former squadron. She remembered the day it had been taken very well due to some…mishaps which she knew Kai was somehow involved in, but on the other side was the mirror. In its reflection she saw herself and her old squadron, their smiles showed not happiness, but pride. Pride over their station as protectors of Free Atmos. Looking away, she wiped away a few stray tears before turning to the others.

"I…I'm afraid that I must decline. But I thank you for your effort, and your aid. I don't think I could have completed the mission on my own."

Grinning, Aerrow shook his head. "Don't worry about it. This room will always be open whenever you need it."

"Yeah drop by sometime! I'll have my guitar fixed and I'll even get Stork to fix the speakers!" Finn jumped in with his usual goofy grin.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here?" Piper pleaded, giving her best pout.

"_Oracle forgive me, they're children! How could I even think about using them like…like…common tools?! I need to get away from here before I do something I'll regret."_

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Starling waved them off. "I'll see what I can do. I might stop by, but I'm not making any promises," she said with an authoritative tone.

Grinning, Aerrow held out his hand. "If you ever need a hand, or are in the neighborhood, drop by alright?"

Biting her lip, Starling nodded her head, and gave his hand a firm shake before marching to the hanger and taking off.

_Flashback end_

After that day, she spent an entire week staring at the ceiling of her rebuilt base. Her mind was once again a battleground, but instead of there only being two clearly defined sides, there seemed to be many small groups fighting for her attention, fighting for control. One part argued that she had what she wanted, what she needed to begin working on her revenge, that part however was under direct assault from every other faction. Part of her said that she should be ashamed of herself for what she did, another told her to return and join them. Another part however, the one that seemed to be the largest and most powerful told her to just leave them be, and remain as she was. It was true that she had done something despicable, but better she not do anything else and hurt them. They were the future of Atmos, and needed to keep that frame of mind.

Despite winning, that side's victory was far from complete. She could still recall the night she was flying back to base after a mission and saw the Condor out of the corner of her sight. She was tired, her skimmer needed some repairs, and despite not being in critical condition, she herself needed some repair work done herself.

"_They did say anytime,"_ The little voice in her head suggested. Normally she would have simply continued on her way, just as she had on the few occasions their paths crossed before. But this time, the combination of being tired, cold, and hungry overruled the part of her brain that normally made her run.

Hailing the Condor, she radioed in a request for clearance to land. The quick and rather lively response she got surprised her, but she felt a tiny flicker of warmth all the same.

After Piper finished treating most of her injuries (being the only female crewmember) Stork came in and gave her a few stitches before leaving. She was about to leave when Piper stopped her and 'insisted' (read as she took Red Streaks keys) that she stay for the night. Not having the energy to fight the young teen, Starling relented and was shown her room. She was surprised to see that despite the length of time it had been since their last encounter, that they had left her room exactly the way it had been before, even cleaning it regularly as they did the rest of the ship.

That night, for the first time in many, many months, she slept soundly. When she woke, she was shocked at what she saw on the room's small clock. She had slept until nearly noon, a feat she hadn't accomplished since she was fifteen.

Alarmed, she bolted for the bridge and demanded to know why they had let her sleep in. Their reply was that she looked like she needed it, so they let her. Again, her mind was divided. The strict regimented part of her wanted to scream, while another, now far stronger part told the other one to take a long walk off a short plank.

After thanking them and eating lunch, she took off for her base, confused at why she felt as though several pounds had just been lifted from her shoulders. At the same time, she kept telling herself it was a one time thing. A fluke, something that wouldn't be repeated.

That lasted a little over a month.

Again, she was returning from a mission and saw the Condor. This pattern continued for close to six months, after which she actually would seek them out at least once a month. Before long, she was staying for two days, then three, and finally made it to where she was now spending one full week a month with the young squadron.

She couldn't explain it. One minute she was waking up doing her morning stretches, the next thing she knew she was landing in the Condor's hanger. It had become part of her usual schedule.

The first few times were difficult, true. But that quickly passed. It just took a while for them to find and come to terms with her boarders. She would train with them as long as it had some form of benefit in her eyes. She would eat with them as long as the food was properly cooked. She would tell them stories about her past as long as they didn't ask questions or try to dig too deep, and Finn would be tolerated as long as he respected her privacy and was at least a tiny bit tasteful.

After these boundaries were recognized and respected, she became one of them. She of course had to learn their own as well, but they were much smaller and easier to avoid clashing with. (Other than Stork that is)

The only problem was that every time she visited them, her mind was in a constant state of battle. She could see a large wall surrounding her that went as high as the heavens themselves, blocking out most of the light and leaving her mind in a dark grey state. Written across the wall were many words, words she recognized to be her own which wrapped around the wall like chains. Some were very small and thin chains, chains saying things such as 'They are just a bunch of kids' or 'I don't have the time'. Others however were much larger. Two in particular had individual chain links bigger than herself.

'Attachments will only lead to failure, use them only to future your goals' This was the mantra she was taught during her one year of special training. It had been drilled into her that she was to view people as tools and use them as such. To cast them aside when broken or of no further use.

The other however, was by far the largest, and it was one of her own creation. Its links were, in her mind, unbreakable.

'You should be ashamed of yourself for what you have done, you are unforgivable' This one came from what she had done in the past with Kai, then again with the Storm Hawks years later. Really and truly, she was ashamed of herself, mainly because they didn't even know she had done it. Only she did.

Under normal circumstances everything was quiet in her mind. But when she was around the Storm Hawks, Kai, or Suzi, she could hear pounding coming from the other side of the wall. Along with the pounding she would see cracks in the mortar and on rare occasions, some of the smaller chains of words would actually break. Sometimes she would even see a brick or two come loose and fall to the ground.

This would both confuse and frighten her, leading her to withdraw from them until her wall was repaired and the chains were back in place.

Now however, things were different. The pounding was now like thunder and echoed throughout her mind, and holes that a person could almost squeeze through were becoming visible. By strange occurrence, she noticed that wherever one of these holes would appear, one of the chains would move and close off. Though it was holding, she could see the cracks from stress spider webbing outwards across its surface, and some of the smaller chains had now completely fallen off.

The two large ones however, were a different story. No matter how loud or powerful the pounding from the outside was, no matter how much stress was put on them, they never budged a single inch.

Yesterday's conversation with Tigger had changed that.

The smaller of the two now had a single dent in one of its links. It wasn't much, but it was more than she had ever seen before in the last eight years.

Again, she heard a loud bang at her minds wall, this one like that of a giants fist pounding at a castle gate. And just as all the times she had heard it before, she stepped away from it a safe distance.

"Yo Star! You alright up there?!"

Jumping at the sound of the voice, Starling fell off the side of the ship to the ground below.

"Hey watch out! UGMP!"

"Shadow! Shadow can you hear me?!" Now frantic, Piper kneeled down beside Shadow's still form trembling.

"No…no no no! Come on! You have to be ok! Aerrow will kill me if Kai doesn't first!"

Shaking her still friend, and now near panicking, Piper almost didn't see it until it was too late.

_HIISSSSSSSS_

"_No! Not now!"_

Ducking to the side, Piper rolled to avoid a stream of incoming crystal fire.

"_It's another one of those bug things! I don't have time to fight this thing right now! Shadow needs my help!"_

Just as she dodged the next burst of fire Marina and Rondana rushed in and attacked.

"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU OVERGROWN COCKROACH!" Marina shouted as she attacked with a flurry of strikes.

Rondana, despite wanting to help Shadow, knew that unless the bug was taken care of first, there was a good chance that they would be joining her.

The three attacked it from every angle they could, but nothing seemed to be working. Its armor deflected everything they threw at it, and they had to be careful since it had managed to get between them and Shadow.

"GRRRRRR BACK OFF!"

_HIISSSSS_

"Ugggghhh, you ok?"

It took a second for Starling's brain to register what had happened. She was on top of the ship, someone had called out her name, she fell, and now she was on the soft ground below.

"_Wait a minute, since when was the ground soft?"_

Looking down, she saw the back of Kai's flight suit.

Once second passed.

Two seconds passed.

Three seconds passed.

Jumping like a scared rabbit, Starling tried to help Kai up.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened, are you ok?"

Clinching his teeth shut, Kai nodded before speaking in a hissing tone.

"Tigger said lunch is ready. She sent me to get you."

"Oh…well…thank you," she replied.

Seeing Kai limp away, she called out to him. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Just….peachy!" Kai shouted back before muttering about sand in his shorts.

"_If he hadn't been there, I know I'd be laid out for at least a few days….his back!"_ She had completely forgotten that Kai was still injured, healing from the blaster wounds to his back, which she had just landed on after falling close to seven feet.

"Kai wait up!"

Seeing him stop suddenly, she was about to continue when he held out his hand.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine. I just want to stay off my back, stomach and or knees for a little while and get some food in me. After that, we'll see, but I'm not doing anything until after I eat ok?"

Starling nodded slowly, and then followed him into the ship.

"_Grrr. I don't know how much more of this I can take!"_ Tigger shouted mentally. The three of them were eating lunch together, and just like last nights dinner, the rooms other two occupants were silent.

"_I've got to get them talking or I'll go insane! How can they stand this much silence!"_

Looking for something, anything! With which she could start a conversation, she found a tiny detail that had caught her attention on more than one occasion.

"Kai?"

The older teen stopped chewing and swallowed before responding.

"Hm?"

"Why don't you ever take off your gloves?"

The effect was immediate. Both Kai and Starling stiffened ever so slightly, but a lifetime of mechanical work had her trained to notice such fine details.

"Why does it matter?" He asked before taking another bite.

"I don't know, I was just wondering. I mean, in all the time I've known you, I've never once seen your hands. You wear them everywhere, even eating! I bet you sleep with them on too!"

Kai swallowed. "So? What if I do? There's no law against wearing gloves is there?" He shot back.

"No, but I doubt that'd matter to you would it?"

Kai responded by shaking his head while he chewed.

"Come on! Take'm off!"

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I said take'm off! I want to see whatever tattoo you've got hidden under those things!"

Starling looked back and forth between the two, her discomfort now coming off in waves.

"Come on Starling! You hold him down and I'll pry them off!"

"Uh, Tigger, why don't we just," she was cut off by Kai before finishing however.

"Look, I wear them because I want to, just finish eating then get back to work ok?"

Tigger grinned. "Uh un, your not in charge anymore, remember? I don't have to take your orders, but you have to take hers. Isn't that right?" She asked nodding towards Starling.

"Tigger, perhaps we should respect his wishes. It is such a small thing, and besides, we still have a lot of work left to finish."

Pouting, Tigger sighed. "Fine! Whatever."

Getting up she grabbed Starling's plate the stepped towards Kai who held his hands back.

"Nice try, but I invented that trick," he said with a small grin.

Tigger growled before grabbing the plate and tossing them into the sink and left the room.

Biting her lip, Starling turned to Kai.

"Perhaps….perhaps it would be for the best if we…eh, you told them the truth."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Star, are you sure that you didn't hit your head out there?"

Taking a deep breath, she continued. "If we are going to be working together for several more weeks, then…we should at least try to meet them halfway, don't you think?"

Kai mulled the idea over a bit before letting out a sigh. "Fine, but only after we pick up the others. I'm not telling the same story twice."

Starling nodded her head in agreement. "I'm sorry Kai, I really am."

Waving his hand, Kai rose from his seat. "It's not your fault, nor is it your problem to worry about. I'll just think of it as a bad dream and treat it the same."

Now that she was alone in the kitchen, Starling stared down at her feet.

"I wish I knew what on Atmos I was doing." Shaking her head, Starling left for the roof access hatch so that she could get back to work.

Piper, Marina and Rondana all stood with gaping jaws.

"Stupid bugs, catching me off guard then trying to hurt my friends!" Shadow shouted as she rose from her kneeling pose and spinning her crystal ax around her hand several times.

"Shadow! Don't move!" Rondana shouted as the three ran to their friend.

"What is it?! Don't tell me it's another one!" She shouted with a fearful expression.

"No stupid! You've got a hole in your back the size of a softball! If you keep moving you could make it even worse!"

Shadow's eyes widened and she dropped her ax to the ground.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked with a squeak.

"Marina, you and Piper help her lay back down, Shadow, I need you to keep as still as possible ok?"

Shadow nodded slowly as the other two slowly lowered her to her stomach.

"It's a miracle that you're even alive, how'd you do that?" Piper asked as she took one of the scared girl's hands in her own.

"I don't know! I saw it, then ducked under its arm and well…you know the rest." She squeaked.

Piper looked over her shoulder at the now deceased insect. It had been cut clean through from its belly to its head. Bisecting it to the point that the two halves fell in opposite directions to the ground.

"Radarr, you and Griffy watch it ok? If it so much as twitches, you let us know ok?"

The two animals nodded in affirmation before running up to the fallen animal.

"I need to get the top of her flight suit off," Rondana said biting her lip.

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Shadow, quiet," Piper said squeezing her hand tight.

Marina pulled her slicer blade from her boot and activated it. "I've flayed fish with this thing plenty of times; this is about the same right?"

Shadow felt a combination of tears starting to fall down her face. She wasn't sure if it was from fear or the absurdity of the situation though that was the source.

"Just be careful that you don't cause more damage ok?" Rondana said as she opened her medkit.

"Just squeeze my hand ok Shadow?" Piper said softly.

Shadow responded by doing said squeezing.

"Alright, here it goes. Try not to flinch ok?" Marina said before lifting the back of Shadow's neckline.

"You don't have to cut the entire back, just a little below the wound," Rondana said as she took the frightened girls other hand in her own.

Nodding, Marina started the delicate procedure. Going from the neck, down the shoulders with a wide curve, then stopping at her mid back before cutting to the side, then up back to the neck.

"Ok, Shadow, you're not going to like this sound, trust me, just try…humming ok?"

"Why? What sound?"

"Please Shadow, just trust me, ok?" Rondana said softly.

Obliging the request, Shadow tried humming to herself as she felt two icy cold fingers slip down the neck of her shirt and start peeling it downwards. It took a few seconds, but then she understood why she was told to hum.

Even over the sound of her humming she could hear it. The sound of cloth being pulled free from wet blood. It was a sickly squishy sound that made her toes curl and stomach feel ready to hurl.

"Ok, Marina, I need you to try and wash the area around the wound as best you can ok?" Rondana said as she passed a canteen over Shadow's now half exposed back.

Shadow decided that this was by far one of the worst things she had ever been through in her life, and now understood why Kai had a fairly thick armor plate on the back of his flight suites. It was one thing to see people working on you, or being out cold when they did. But to be able to hear them and not see was borderline torture.

"Ok, um…Shadow, this is going to be very, very cold ok?"

Shadow's only response was a whimper and tightening of her hold on the other girl's hands.

Marina lowered the canteen so that it was only a few inches away from her skin, then tipped it over slowly, only allowing a few drops to fall onto her skin.

Normally, Shadow would have jumped several feet in the air at feeling the cold water slid down her back, but she was held in place by fear.

"Ok, here it goes," Marina said poring out a little more as she moved her hand around the area covered with blood.

"What in Naru's graces?"

No longer feeling the cold water roll down her back, Shadow spoke up.

"Is…is it really bad?" She asked with a frightened tone.

"Bad? Shadow…I….I don't really know how to explain this," Rondana said moving one hand to the girls back.

Shadow swallowed, having her worst fear confirmed.

"_It must be really bad."_ Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to cry. Not in front of the others. They wouldn't see her break.

She was shocked to feel a sudden cold wave spread across her back, up to her shoulders then down to her pants.

"What in the name of Zelda's garter belt are you girl?" Marina asked as she rubbed her hand across the middle of Shadow's back.

"What is it?" Shadow asked, now even more frightened.

"This makes no sense, all that blood, her skin turning blue, it just doesn't make any sense," Rondana said adding her own hand to move across the younger teens back.

"What is wrong with me?" She asked, tone now much higher and fear clearly evident.

"But, when I got here, I thought, I thought she was already dead? What happened?"

"WHAT THE OBLIVION IS WRONG WITH ME?!" Shadow shouted, now afraid, cold, and tired of being ignored while the other three poked and prodded her back.

"Shadow…there's nothing there," Rondana replied without thinking.

"My entire backs….gone?" She squeaked fearfully.

"No! No no no no! I mean there is nothing wrong, no wound, no hole, no injury, no nothing! Just pale white skin in bad need of a tan." Rondana said as she once again poked said spot.

"Then….YOU RUINED MY SHIRT FOR NOTHING!" Shadow shouted, leaping to her feet and about to continue before squeaking and crossing her arms to prevent her shirt from falling off.

"Shadow, your backside had blood all over it, and a hole the size of Junko's fist, if you don't believe me, look," Rondana said holding up the cut out piece of cloth.

Shadow shivered and gagged as she saw thick strands of blood dripping down from the bottom of the cloth to the cave floor.

"But…if that's true, then why don't I have a huge gaping hole in my back?" She asked as she slid down to her butt.

"We were hoping you could tell us that actually," Piper said tearing her gaze away from the bloody strip of cloth with a shudder of her own.

"What do you mean?"

"Where were you all this time? Why did you go this far from camp without letting one of us know?"

Shadow furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about? I told Griffy to stay with you guys."

"Griffy was here with you when I got here," Piper said pointing over the confused teens shoulder.

Turning slightly, Shadow eyed Griffy for a moment. "I told him to stay." She said before turning back to the others.

"Ok, but still, why were you all the way out here? This is pretty far from our campsite," Marina asked sternly.

Shadow scuffed her boot and looked away from the others before speaking.

"Griffy was acting up….he….sensed something nearby and I went to check it out."

"YOU WHAT!"

Shadow cringed at the three's outburst, but continued.

"I was gonna call for help if I needed it! I'm not stupid you know!" Shadow retorted.

"That remains to be seen," Piper said shaking her head. "Look, every terra that we visit is going to be a death trap at best. We can't afford to take careless risks. Do you want to end up like Kai?" Piper asked.

Shadow almost snickered at the comment, but seeing the looks on the others faces killed off any humor in her system.

"Hey it's not like I didn't find anything of use! Tell them!"

"Uh, Shadow, tell who?" Rondana asked, starting to think that the girl wasn't as 'well off' as they believed and had suffered some sort of concussion.

"Who? Uh, them…..of…course…" Shadow looked behind herself, then around the room. "Where'd they go?"

"Where who go?" Piper asked, remembering the song she had heard while running down the passage.

"The…girl….and the guy…I know they were here just a second ago," Shadow said confused.

"Ok Shadow, I think you had better start from the beginning. Tell us exactly what happened." Marina said with a mix of aggravation and concern.

Nodding her head, Shadow looked around the room. "Uh….first…did any of you bring an extra shirt?"

Rondana, Piper and Marina all face planted at this.

"No Shadow, you'll have to make due with that."

Shadow gaped and paled at the same time. "You can't be serious! I'm not walking around like this!"

Before the situation could progress any further, Piper stepped in. "Shadow, come here."

Piper grabbed the younger girl by the arm and dragged her to a secluded are of the cave.

"We'll be back in just a second ok?"

Marina and Rondana nodded dumbly, not knowing what else to do and waited.

A few minutes passed before the two reemerged. Shadow was now wearing Piper's 'borrowed' flight suite top and Piper was wearing Shadow's 'damaged one. It had been modified however as the sleeves had been cut off and tied around her to hold it up. One sleeve was a little above her waistline and the other wrapped underneath her arms.

The other two just shook their heads but said nothing, wanting to find out what had happened.

"Ok, now that that's been taken care of, start talking," Marina ordered.

Shadow nodded.

"Well, at first I was just following the tunnel to see where it led. Since there was only this one passage I knew that whatever it was I was following couldn't ambush me. I don't know how long I was walking, but eventually I came to this room. I was about to enter when I heard someone talking."

"Someone? Not something?" Piper asked.

"Hey I'm telling the story ok? Now, like I was saying before, I heard somebody talking,"

_Flashback_

"I know it's been awhile. I'm sorry that I haven't visited," came a soft female voice.

"_There's more of them? This is bad!"_ Just as she turned to leave, she heard the voice continue.

"I miss you….but...you knew this would happen….you knew it from the very beginning."

Stopping, she turned back and decided to listen a bit more. It was almost like something didn't want her to leave.

"I…I'll never be able to thank you enough…for everything….I wish…..I wish we could still….be together….but…you knew…it wouldn't last."

"_It sounds like…she's talking to…"_

Looking down, she saw a faint blue glow from under her shirt, and felt a strange warmness. Reaching inside her neckline, she pulled out her necklace, and was surprised to see the Griffin stone glowing faintly, bathing her in an icy blue light.

"_What is this?"_

"Of all the things we faced….I guess, time was the only one we could never defeat…no matter how strong we were back them."

Swallowing a large lump in her throat, Shadow stepped forward.

"Um…hello?"

The speaker spun on their heel and faced Shadow with a startled look on their face.

The person had very short hair, shorter than most guys she knew. The only reason she knew it was a female was their body's curves. If she had to guess, she would say they were in their early twenties.

"Leave this place now. I do not wish to fight you, but if you will not leave me alone I will defend myself!" The woman reached behind her back and pulled out a single blue glowing katana.

"I don't want to fight you! Honest! I was just…"

_Hisss_

"Look out! Behind you!"

Shadow tried to turn, but the next thing she felt was a sharp pain in her back spreading like wildfire. The pain was so intense that she was only able to cry out once before being reduced to tears.

Pain overwhelming her senses, her vision faded in and out between darkness and consciousness.

She vaguely saw the woman land and bring her free hand back. Shadow then heard something like a static buildup and saw an orb of reddish pink energy form in her hand.

Next thing she heard was an explosion followed by a roar of pain.

"Ugghh."

"Shhh. You're injured, don't try to move ok?"

Shadow did the only thing she could, and nodded her head tiredly.

"You're friends are coming, but their not going to make it in time."

Shadow blinked her eyes and let out a groaning whine. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the person looking down at her. She couldn't see much since the light was so dim, but she could make out what appeared to be body armor of some sort. Judging by the voice, she thought it might be a girl close to her age, but everything was just so fuzzy, she couldn't tell.

Slowly, the person knelt down on their knees beside her, and placed both hands on her back.

"Ahh!"

"Shhh sh sh sh, I know it hurts, but it'll be alright soon, I promise."

Shadow whimpered as she felt something cool touch the center of her back and spread outwards like a large piece of ice melting.

Then, everything faded to black.

_Flashback end_

Piper, Marina and Rondana's jaws were again hanging wide open.

"If what you're saying is true…Shadow…that woman saved your life," Rondana said quietly.

"Oh come on, it wasn't really all that bad was it?" Shadow asked nervously.

"Actually, it was. Shadow, what you just described were symptoms of extreme blood loss and trauma. If you had been alone, you would have died from that one injury, even if the creature had left after inflecting it."

Shadow's face drained of all color. (Hey, it wasn't everyday that you found out you had nearly died.)

"Wait a minute; you said there were two right? You never said anything about a guy in your little story," Piper pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. He didn't come until later."

Piper raised an eyebrow. "Later? Shadow, when I got here, it was just you and Griffy. I would have seen anyone here when I arrived."

"Hey, I know what I saw ok! The woman was here, I don't know where she went, but I know that she and the guy were here!"

"What guy? Shadow, you haven't said anything about a guy." Marina stated.

Groaning, Shadow continued.

"It was after I blacked out ok? And no! It wasn't a dream!"

_Flashback_

Everywhere she looked, Shadow could only see black emptiness.

"Wow, you really had a close one there didn't you?"

"Huh? Who said that?!" Shadow hopped up and drew her crystal ax.

"Hey, hey! No need to run and get something pointy! Besides, it's not a good idea to run with pointy objects, trust me, I know."

"_I don't like this, I can't see a thing and this guys is taunting me, I know it."_

"Actually, I'm not taunting you, just pointing out the obvious. As for not being able to see, well, you should try opening your eyes."

"Opening my…my eyes are open! Get out here and show yourself! What are you, yellow?"

"Hmm no, not really. A little maybe, but I'm mostly blue and purple."

Shadow's eye twitched.

"Sheesh, why are all girls so temperamental? Even Princess is snippy all the time now."

"I wouldn't be so temperamental if you'd come out of hiding and showed yourself!" Shadow yelled.

"Look, if you want to see me, you have to open your eyes," the voice shot back with a sing-a-song voice.

Before Shadow could shriek or scream, the voice spoke up again. "Try this, close your eyes, then focus on opening them, don't actually open them. You know, like you do when you first wake up in the morning."

Frustrated, but not really able to do anything else, Shadow obliged the voice and closed her eyes.

"_Like when I wake up in the morning huh?"_

Opening her eyes, Shadow nearly jumped at what she saw.

It was a young man, or older teen (she couldn't really tell) leaning against the rocky wall several feet away lazily.

"There you go, you got it. And on your very first try too."

Although she couldn't actually see his face, she knew he was smirking.

"Great, now I can see, but why did you help me? If you were trying to attack me then you would have when I couldn't see. So your either a good guy or your about to start with the whole 'come to the darkside, we have donuts' spiel."

To her surprise, the person started laughing.

"Oh man, that was a good one! I've got to remember that."

Several seconds of laughter passed before the person wiped a tear from their eye and spoke.

"No, I'm not here to recruit you; it wouldn't really do a whole lota good anyways. I'm speaking to you because I can. We don't get a lot of visitors these days. Well, aside from Princess, and she only comes here to talk to her boy toy."

Shadow could feel a mixture or humor, wistfulness and a touch of anger coming from the person, but she knew that he wasn't hostile somehow. It was like a gut feeling, she just knew it. Plan and simple.

"Ok, soo…what?"

Shrugging his shoulders, the person started walking towards her before speaking.

"Well, as much as I would love to continue our deep and philosophical discussion on the meaning of life, I think your friends need a hand," he said pointing behind her.

Turning to look over her shoulder, Shadow gasped when she saw Piper, Marina and Rondana all frozen in mid attack, along with another of the overgrown insects from the night before.

"Did you do that to them?!" Shadow demanded.

Before she could turn around, a firm hand landed on her shoulder.

"No, I can't really do much of anything other then talk, and even that's limited now. Of course the others will tell you that's all I could ever do to begin with, but they're bunch idiots. What you see here, is you're doing….sort of."

"Sort of? What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

"Well, it's all really technical and kind of complicated."

"You mean you don't know?" Shadow asked with a small grin.

"NO!....Ok, well, actually I DO know it is you, but no, I don't really know how it's done. I just have a basic understanding myself."

"But…how do I fix this?"

"The same way you 'opened your eyes'. Just focus on things moving again and they will."

Shadow swallowed before turning to look up at the person standing beside her.

His face was very pale, the same color as Starling, which told her that he didn't spend much time outside. Other than then he looked…mostly normal. Other than the fact he had several purple colored tattoos on his face, almost like stripes, and…"

"Not a word about them ok? I know, it looks weird, but I can assure you they're real," he said with a bit of annoyance.

Shadow felt her smile grow a little more as a tiny giggle escaped from her.

"Awww their so cute!"

Looking down, the young man pouted. "Why does everyone say that about them? They're just ears, jeeze." As he spoke, the two ears on top of his head twitched slightly.

"Go, your friends need help."

Shadow nodded her head. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I turn my back for one second and everything's gone to pot."

The young man snickered before replying. "I know what you mean, trust me."

Just then Shadow felt a slight pain in her shoulder where his hand was. Five tiny points of pain to be precise.

"I know what you mean. Give him one for me alright? I really hate those things."

Shadow turned and was about to ask for his help, but was surprised to find herself alone.

"Where did he? But…he was right here?"

Turning back to her friends, Shadow did as he told her and focused on everything moving again.

Seconds later, it did, and she struck.

_Flashback end_

The three stared at her like she was crazy.

"A guy with cat ears? You're joking right?" Piper asked worriedly.

Rondana stepped forward to feel Shadow's head for a temperature.

"I'm serious! Besides, would you really be that surprised to see some guy with cat ears when out on a mission with _Kai_ of all people?"

"Hey, I'm the new girl, don't look at me," Marina said raising her arms in defense.

Rondana and Piper looked at each other, then at Shadow, before looking back at each other.

"She's telling the truth," they both said in unison as their shoulders slumped.

"But if that's the case, where'd they go? People cant just up and vanish like that," Piper said snapping her fingers.

Frowning, Shadow walked over to where she had seen the young woman when she first arrived in the room.

"Actually….I think they can," she said softly.

"What do you mean?" Rondana asked as she and the others moved towards Shadow.

Half turning, Shadow held up one bright blue glowing hand. In the darkness of the cave, the blue glow looked like a small sun in her hand, and illuminated the area in front of them.

The three gasped at what they saw.

"Ok, that is beyond freaky," Rondana said swallowing.

"I don't believe it," Piper said as she brought up her hand.

Marina however, crossed her arms and adopted a solemn expression.

Before them were seven large stone vaults, all of which were sealed shut.

"This isn't a cave," Piper said as her hand traced the intricate carving on the one closest to her.

"It's a tomb," Marina said as she closed her eyes and lowered her head out of respect.

End chapter 12

AN: Ok, so this could be considered a cliff hanger, but I think it was a good place to stop the chapter cause the next bit is going to be loooooong and will take up an entire chapter. I actually didn't notice until after writing this chapter that every time something big happens to Shadow, Starling has a big event as well in my work. Weird huh? Anyways, the group will be on this terra for about three more chapters. After that it's on to the next terra, which due to figuring out my first puzzle, Arashi21 got to pick out. I won't say what it is yet, you'll have to wait.

However, that doesn't mean you've got nothing to do but read (and hopefully review). Here is my second riddle which everyone (other than Arashi21) has a chance at solving (sorry buddy, but you know the answer already and you've already won once.)

Whoever gets the most correct gets to pick out which terra if visited after Arashi21's pick. I'll send the choices to the winner as a PM.

Ready? Here we go!

First: Who is the woman?

Second: Who is the cat guy?

Third: Who are in the seven sealed tombs?

I'd love to give a hint or a clue, but that wouldn't be as much fun. I've tried to write the two characters shown in this one as in character as possible (which is the primary reason for this chapters lateness) I'll accept answers in the form of PM's or reviews.

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, I know I did! Please leave a few kind words or thoughts; they're what keep me going these days.

Be on the lookout for chapter 13: 'The Price of Power' sometime later this week.

Till next time, Ja Ne! (Dang, it didn't get its own page this time lol)


	13. The Price of Power!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 13: The Price of Power!

AN: Ok, now I want to say that I am thankful and extremely appreciative for all the reviews guys (girls) they really make my day. I was surprised that only ONE person tried to figure out the riddle, but since they at least tried, AND actually got it partially correct, they get to choose the terra that will come up after the next one. I also want to say that I know this story seems a bit dark at times and might even seem to repeat itself, but that won't be a constant. This whole story is about change and growth, so from time to time you'll see similar things because sometimes people develop at a similar rate. Also, I'll be adding one more line to the disclaimer, but it'll be at the bottom so as not to give away any spoilers. Oh, and please forgive this chapters lateness, hopefully it's super size status will make up for that.

Also don't forget check out Arashi21's new story: Fighting Wings! Which ties in with the Winds of Change serie, but is told through the eyes of Kestrel!

Oh, and a big time shout out to Miss D, Mrs J Black, and Shadow Queen for letting me play with their timeline a bit, thx girls!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

Kai was not in a good mood.

Ok, that's an understatement; his mood was actually downright foul.

Currently he was underneath the control consol in the ships cockpit, and in a rat's nest of wires.

"_Dang it Tigger, why couldn't you just leave well enough alone?"_

"White to white, red to red, otherwise you're shocked and dead," Kai muttered as he pulled a strip of wire loose.

Half his mind was focusing on the dangerous task of rewiring the ships electrical systems, something he had been working on since yesterday. All that was left was the cockpit, which he knew would take as long as the rest of the ship had taken itself.

This was because ALL of the wires from the various systems ran to the cockpit for control purposes. Everything from lights and steering, to power and hydraulic control.

The other half of his mind however was trying to figure out just how on Atmos he was going to explain everything to Tigger, Shadow, Rondana and Marina after they got off this dirtball of a terra.

Piper already knew most of his story, as did Starling, so he wasn't too worried about them. Of those remaining, Marina, despite knowing her the least amount of time was the only one he felt ok to talk to since she seemed to be familiar with both weirdness of his caliber, and the dark seedy world of politics. Rondana, he knew had a fair grasp of politics and was no stranger to weirdness. But he also knew that at heart she was a kind and genital person. Sure, she had a spark to her, and could hold her own in a fight, but some of them things he was going to have to tell them he knew would bother her.

Shadow and Tigger however were a completely different story. They were both seasoned, and he knew they weren't completely clueless as to how the world worked, but they both still had an air of naivety to them, an aura of innocence.

"_So how do I go about explaining that the people that they are supposed to trust as leaders and protectors can be just as petty and rotten as Lark?"_

This was the question he had the most difficulty with. Something that he was actually able to laugh at slightly considering some of the other things he was going to be forced into explaining.

"_Who'd thought the day would come that I'd be more afraid of talking about the old gas bags that are after my head than what happened back on Ulra?"_

Picking up a piece of red wire, he fed it through the copper prongs, and after stripping the end, capped it together with the end of the wire he had just removed.

"_It's not like it's that big of a deal….is it?"_ Kai thought wearily as he found his eyes being drawn to his gloved hand.

"_They're just hands, it's not like it would change anything if they knew."_

The thought did little to assure him however. In fact, it seemed to do just the opposite.

"_Wonder what will happen after they see what I used to look like….when I was still…."_

"Hey Kai!"

Jumping at hearing his name called, Kai jumped, only to smack his head into the bottom of the control consol.

"_Why is it I still think Arygyn is somehow getting a good laugh at my expense?"_

"What Tigger? I'm a little busy here," Kai replied holding one hand to his now sore head.

"Really, you look a little sore to me," Tigger said teasingly.

Kai shot her a low level glare, but didn't put any actual power behind it in response.

"Anyway, I've almost finished with the repairs, but I was wondering why you had all those hatches on the topside. They make the hull weaker and more prone to stress fracturing."

"What? Hatches?...Oh those. Don't mess with those. They're part of the ship's defenses," Kai replied.

"How are hatches part of a ships defense network?" Tigger asked, confused, but at the same time intrigued. An engineer was always on the lookout for something new to tinker with after all.

"They're crystal dust filled compartments. Releasing them while in combat lets me do different things. Shocker crystal powder wrecks havoc if it gets sucked into a ships engines, same with firebolt powder. Shield crystal powder can absorb incoming fire, and smoker powder lets me sneak away in case I run across something I cant fight, or lets me make it look like the ships a lot more damaged than it really is.

"_That's actually not a half bad idea….I wonder where he got the idea from?"_

"How'd you come up with that? It's actually pretty…well…smart," Tigger said trying to be as tactful as possible.

Kai grew a sheepish grin and looked away. "I…uh…got it from a TV show actually. I tried it out a while back to see if it would work and…well….it does."

Tigger's jaw hit the ground.

"You got that from a TV show?"

"Well…yeah…along with some of my other tricks. You'd be surprised what actually works if you sit down and think it though," Kai said chuckling.

Tigger left the cockpit muttering about how she owed Piper five gold when she got back and the injustice of it all.

"Wait a minute; you're not suggesting that….they were both…" Rondana asked as she looked back and forth between the tombs and Shadow.

"It's not that unusual really. I've come across this sort of thing quite a few times….sort of," Marina said calmly.

"You have?" Piper asked in mild surprise.

"Like I said, sort of. I'm actually used to them trying to hurt or outright kill me, not so much in the helping department."

"I don't believe this. You're actually buying this? Ghosts aren't real; they're just a myth that parents tell their little kids to spook them. Like the boogie man, werewolves, or the Michel Jackson," Rondana said with a scoff.

"Welll….actually….Finn did kind of get turned into a werewolf some time ago…." Seeing the startled looks on the others faces she waved her hands frantically. "But we cured him! It was all Larks doing and he's better now! Honest!"

"Back to the matter at hand. Ghosts are real Rondana, I've seen plenty, and I've….taken care of plenty, so trust me, they DO exist."

"I'm a doctor, a person of science and logic. Not fairytales and magic. There is no such thing as ghosts, and there is no such thing as magic."

"Oh yeah? What about Arygyn? He can transform into a bird, AND has all those weird powers. And on that subject, what about Kai? Have you ever seen when he cuts loose?"

Rondana rolled her eyes. "Arygyn is strange, I'll give you that. But he's far from _magical,_" Rondana emphasized the point with air quotes.

"More than likely his powers are connected to the crystal on his staff. You know, the big glowing one the size of Raparr's head? The transformation part is probably just another crystal or some form of biomimicry we don't know about, like lycanthropy, if indeed Finn transformed and wasn't just in need of a bath and haircut."

Piper shuddered at the memory.

"No, he transformed, I was there, I saw it."

"And what about Kai?" Shadow asked tilting her head to one side.

"Kai…is….Kai. I don't know what he is. I know his illusion abilities are somehow tied in with abnormal development of the frontal lobe and cerebral cortex since I've done quite a few head X-rays of him. His abilities though we already know are connected to that weird crystal of his."

As the group talked, Shadows eyes turned glossy and she walked away from the others.

"Hey, Shadow! Hey look I'm sorry if I upset you!" Rondana shouted, but was ignored.

"Shadow? You ok girl? Yo, Shadow!" Piper looked back to the others for only a second before running to catch up to the other girl.

"Come on!" Marina shouted as she ran after the other two.

"Oh come on! It's all an act you know! She's not really like, possessed….I hope," Rondana added the last part under her breath.

When she finally caught up to the others they were back at their camp and Shadow was looking out towards the now open hole they had come through the other day.

"What's up with her?" Rondana whispered to Piper.

Piper looked at her with a worried expression before looking back at Shadow.

"I don't know, she hasn't said anything since we left the crypt. I'm worried."

Looking over her shoulder, Shadow's face showed a large grin.

"Try and keep up!"

Without warning she hopped onto her skimmer and revved it before flying through the open hole.

"SHADOW! GET BACK HERE!"

"We don't have time for this!" Piper shouted as she hopped onto Kai's skimmer and revved it. Radarr hopped on just before she took off.

"What's wrong with that girl?! I swear she is so grounded when I catch her!" Marina shouted as she climbed aboard her own skimmer and took off with Rondana not too far behind.

"Shadow! Get back here! We don't have time for this! We have to find the base before Domiwick gets here!" Piper shouted at the top of her lungs.

Shadow waved with one hand before diving to the ground without looking back.

Piper narrowed her eyes as she pushed forward on the control yokes, and dived after the younger teen.

Right when she was about to hit the sand and rock ground, she pulled up.

Piper, Marina and Rondana gapped, all thinking that Shadow had just flown into the cliff face, but were shocked when they didn't see or hear an explosion.

"What the? Piper! There must be a passage way down there! Hurry up!" Marina called out as she put her skimmer into a falcon dive, followed by Piper and Rondana.

As they neared the bottom, they saw a tiny crack in the cliff face, just wide enough for a skimmer to pass thought.

Sideways

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Rondana shouted as she saw Piper and Marina both turn onto their sides flying towards the tiny sliver.

"THIS IS SUICIDE!" Rondana shouted before following suit.

The three skimmers flew though the crack just barely. All three's eyes went wide however when they got through.

"I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS!" Rondana shouted.

"Just pretend it's a video game!" Piper shouted back.

"I DON'T PLAY VIDEO GAMES!" Rondana shouted back as she ducked a rock pillar that nearly took her head off.

The three were flying in what looked like a brightly lit cave of pure crystal. Stalagmites and stalactites rising and hanging from every surface, all glowing with a warm dark yellow light.

Piper was having a hard time dodging and ducking the terrain. She was used to flying a heliscooter, not a skimmer, and even then she wouldn't have flown through this.

"_I can't keep this up! I'm going to crash!"_

"_What are you talking about? This is easy stuff!"_

Piper groaned.

"_Please, not you, not now! I'm barely staying alive; I don't need you distracting me!"_ Piper mentally shouted at 'new' Piper.

"_Relax, breath deep, and take your time. You're doing ok."_

"_OK! I'm flying in a cave without a clue where I'm going! What part of that is ok?!"_

"_Would you clam up for just one second? I'm trying to help you! Now quit whining and keep flying! Don't look to your sides, keep your eyes and head pointing forward, and don't focus on what's right in front of you, look straight ahead and try to draw an imaginary line through here. Follow that, and you'll be ok,"_ 'New' Piper said reassuringly.

Piper gulped nervously, but nodded her head.

"I can do this," she said to herself.

Breathing in a deep breath, she focused her eyes on the furthest point she could and flew towards it.

Marina watched as Piper slowly sped up and away from her and Rondana. "I wouldn't do that if…I…were…you?"

She watched as Piper tilted her skimmer on its side, then barrel rolled to avoid one hanging and one rising point of rock at the same time. The closest thing she could compare it to was watching a wasp darting about. She was flying not only flawlessly, but it looked like she was flying effortlessly as well.

"Oh, she thinks she's the only one here with skill huh? Watch and learn princess, the queen is coming in!"

Easing the accelerator up, Marina caught up to Piper, and gave her a one handed salute wave before taking off.

"_Did she just?"_

New Piper nodded her head.

"_Yep, that was a challenge. She's calling us out."_

Split Piper 'new' Piper

"_She_ is _so _going _down!"_

Shoulders back, head down and grin wide, Piper slammed the accelerator to full.

Rondana gaped at the two as she watched them twist and turn, roll and spin dodging the rocky masses of death around them at break neck speeds.

"They've lost it. Insane in the membrane, coo coo for coco puffs," she said to heself before realizing that she was talking to no one.

"_Great, now I'm going nuts too."_

As the two ducked and weaved through the 'playground of death' as Rondana would later call it, they slowly were able to make out the form of a skimmer up ahead.

"It's Shadow!'

The skimmer in question then did a triple barrel roll, dodging a ring of staggered rock outcroppings.

"No way, Shadow's not even close to that level of flying!" Marina shouted.

"Shadow? Aerrow couldn't pull that off!" Piper shouted back.

"Wanna give it a shot?" Marina asked slyly.

Piper returned to older woman's grin.

"Beauty before age!" She shouted taking off.

"Beauty before….I'M NOT OLD!" Marina shouted shaking her fist.

Passing through the spinning ring of rock, Piper was met with a sudden blast of heat and light.

"We're though!" Piper shouted before turning back to Marina and adding.

"I won!" and blowing a raspberry.

Marina rolled her eyes to cover her pout.

"_That's alright, enjoy your glory now. We've still got more terra's left after this one,"_ she said to herself mentally.

"Wow! Marina! Rondana! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Piper shouted as she pointed ahead as she landed and brought the skimmer to a halt.

Marina and Rondana both followed suit and came to a stop to each side of Piper.

"I….I don't believe it." Marina said climbing off her skimmer.

"It's huge!" Rondana said after she finally managed to pry her shaking hands from her skimmer's controls.

Before them was a large ruined city that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles. Most of the buildings were collapsed or outright destroyed, but there was a single one still standing.

"What is that?" Rondana asked as she pointed at the large tower that stood in the middle of the city.

"If I had to guess, I would say that was the city's citadel, maybe even its castle," Marian said stroking her chin.

"Think anybodies home?" Rondana asked, looking at Piper.

Piper bit her lip. "I don't think the city's original inhabitants are still alive, but Kai told me that he's never been to anything related to the ancients that was completely abandoned."

"Great, so the house is empty but the guards are still home," Marina muttered.

"Uh, guys, how'd we get here?"

Everyone turned to see a slightly confused Shadow looking around with wide eyes.

"Shadow…you don't remember…"

_Rumble_

"What was that?" Rondana asked pointing at a random spot on the ground.

"Rondana, what are you talking about?" Piper asked looking over at the pointing teen.

"You didn't see that? It was huge! It looked like some kind of…black spot or something," Rondana replied.

One green eye peeked out from behind a half collapsed building and widened.

"_How did they find me?! The only way into the city is through the tunnel, and they couldn't have known about that!"_

Looking around nervously, she focused her hearing on what they were saying, trying to get some idea of who they were and why they were here.

"Rondana, what are you talking about?"

"You didn't see that? It was huge! It looked like some kind of…black spot or something,"

"_Black spot? Oh no!"_

The ground around the girls feet suddenly exploded as a large creature flew up into the air before crashing down seconds later and sinking into the ground.

"WHAT WAS THAT THING?!" Shadow shouted pointing at the huge hole in the ground.

"I didn't get a good look at it….there it is!" Marina pointed at a black object moving around on the ground towards them.

"It's coming this way! Move it!" Piper shouted as the creature flew out from underground and by them like a runaway train.

"Was that?" Piper started.

"A whale?" Rondana finished.

"A whale? You're kidding right? They've been extinct for like, ever! And they only lived in water!" Shadow shouted.

"I don't think it's a whale," Marina said watching it move around and turn towards them.

"It moves more like a fish," she added.

"A fish? COME ON! WE'RE ON DRY LAND! DESERT!" Shadow shouted as the creature lunged out at them again.

This time it passed only a few feet in front of Piper's stunned face.

"I think it's a rock fish actually," she said when it dived back down into the ground beneath them.

"Call it off or something!" Rondana shouted at Shadow as she drew her staff.

"What? Are you nuts? That thing's trying to eat us! I'm not!"

Before she could finish what she was saying, the large 'rock fish' emerged again and nearly grabbed her before submerging.

"THIS SUCKS! It swims in rock! How are we supposed to fight that?!" Shadow shouted as she finally drew her weapon free.

"If they don't get out of here, they'll be eaten for sure."

Beside herself, the woman tried to decide what would be the right thing to do. She didn't know these people, and they seemed to be after her. Would it be right to help people that were obviously after her for some reason?

"_They haven't actually done anything to me….they've only fought to protect themselves so far…but….why are they here?"_

Marina jumped into the air and fired off her special attack. The blast of energy hit the ground and tunneled down several feet, but the giant rock fish dodged it before it could make contact.

"How'd it see that coming? It's under wat….err…ground!" Shadow shouted.

"I don't know! It's like it detected it coming or something!" Marina shouted as she landed.

"This isn't fair! How can it see through rock! It's a fish!" Rondana shouted.

"A fish made of rock!" Shadow added.

"Wait a second! Why is it only coming after us and not the skimmers?" Piper asked.

"Who cares!? Right now we need to get away from it!" Shadow shouted as she jumped out of the way of another of the creature's lunges.

Radarr hopped down from his skimmer sidecar and was about to run over to them when the large fish started swimming towards him.

"RADARR! GET BACK ON THE SKIMMER!" Piper shouted.

"Wait a second! That's it!" Marina shouted with a grin. "Everybody! Stand still!"

"Are you nuts?!" Shadow shouted at the top of her lungs.

"No I get it! It can't actually see us! It hears us!" Piper shouted before taking a wide stance and remaining completely still.

"You're crazy! It's going to get you Piper! Move!"

The group watched as the large fish 'swam' towards Piper like a torpedo.

"MOVE! IT SEE'S YOU!" Rondana shouted, fearing for her friend's safety.

Piper gulped, and then grinned as the fish swam under her and kept moving towards Shadow.

"See! I told you it'd work!" Shadow shouted before taking a similar pose to Piper's. Piper and Marina rolled their eyes but remained silent.

Rondana stopped in midstride and just remained still.

The fish started swimming in circles around them, like it was looking for them, but was unable to figure out where they went.

"See, we'll be fine, just keep still until it leaves," Piper said in her loudest whisper.

_Hisss_

_Growl_

"Oh you've got to be kidding! There is no way our lucks that bad!" Shadow shouted out with a mix of frustration and whine.

Having finished rewiring the ship, Kai relaxed against the cold metal wall. And tried to work the kink out as best he could.

Key word, tried.

"_My backs going to be killing me for a month, I know it,"_ Kai groaned.

"_At least I won't have to worry about keeping them around anymore."_ Kai thought. _"After I tell them….I won't have to protect them from finding out….or from myself."_

Kai could literally feel chains coming out of the ground and try to drag him under.

Ever since…the event, he had been forced to live two separate lives at the same time. The one in public that everyone saw, and the real one that only a handful of people even knew existed.

His reasons were simple, to survive, and to protect others.

He became a Murk Raider to help Free Atmos and to get enough supplies that he could survive, but he didn't tell anyone because then he'd be seen as an enemy, regardless of his actions or motives.

He only sought medical attention from Rondana because he knew she didn't keep medical records. Doctors couldn't blab about a patient, that was true, but records could always be stolen or found. Thanks to her terra's laws and traditions however, the few doctors it had didn't keep records to protect their patient's identities.

And he kept his nature from others because he knew it would cause nothing but trouble. It was why he had to live on the run for the entire fifteenth year of his life, it was why he had to wear contact lenses for the two years that followed that, and why he never removed his gloves unless he had to.

True, he dropped the contact lenses after leaving terra Mesa, so his eyes had been seen by plenty of people. But given everything that was going on during those times, he doubted that they had actually paid any attention to them and thus hadn't actually 'seen' them.

He had no other choice though. He wanted to draw as little attention to himself as possible. Added to the fact that no one liked to be thought of as….different.

These thoughts always kept him back, held him in place and prevented him from moving on in life.

Doubt and fear, it would seem, were far stronger than people gave them credit for.

"_If I have to, I guess I can just take my skimmer and leave them the ship to go back. I can finish this on my own, even without Rose's power, I've still got a year's worth of experience with this kind of thing, and I've never had anyone help before."_

"Ow!"

Kai jumped when he felt a tiny shock on his arm. Looking down he glared at the infernal curse of Arygyn with a look that could melt through most ships hull plating.

"_I don't ever remember these things shocking me before. Why now?"_

Looking closer at the four silver bangles, Kai tried to sense any form of energy from them.

"_I don't get it. Static charges don't happen when there's no carpet, and I haven't flown on my skimmer in weeks so it can't be air friction. Did being in terra Deep for so long mess with them somehow?"_

Kai was brought out of his musings by a familiar voice.

"Fond memories?"

Snorting, Kai looked up at Starling.

"Not really. Just trying to figure out why they keep shocking me. I don't remember that happening before."

Starling pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Mine actually started doing that not too long ago. I thought it might just be from flying, but after the last few weeks….well..."

"I guess terra Deep must have messed them up somehow. Electric field or magnetic pole manipulation of some sort. Is it all of them or just the one you…found?"

Knowing what he was referring to, Starling looked away slightly.

"Just the one, so I guess it is terra Deep. Maybe it's a sign you shouldn't be living there," she teased.

Kai rolled his eyes. "So it messes with Mesa ore. I don't see the big issue."

Starling's face became slightly more serious before she spoke. "I don't know, if it makes metal shock a person at random, what do you think it would do to a human? Murk Raiders didn't always exist you know."

"Star, that's just an old myth and you know it," Kai shot back.

Raising one eyebrow Starling gave Kai 'the look'.

"You mean just like dragons? Or how about flying fortresses? I wouldn't be surprised to find actual oceans the size of our skies one day if I were you. You seem to have a knack from finding things that are, how did you put it, 'old myths'."

"There is a difference between a living breathing dragon and a person turning into a green skinned red eyed moron with an insane urge to pillage and destroy."

"Again, I offer exhibit A," Starling said holding her hand out towards Kai.

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"Why are you here?"

He saw the look in her eyes change from self assured and slightly cocky to slightly timid and almost lost.

"I was just…wondering if…you had anything you wished to air out with me before you…erm," Starling paused as she tried to figure out how to put what she was trying to say.

"Cry havoc and slip lose the dogs of war?" Kai offered with a small grin.

Starling chuckled. "That's one way of putting it, yes."

"Not really. Anything you don't know, I'm not going to go and say anyways, so don't worry about it," he said waving it off.

"What….haven't you told me?" She asked carefully.

Kai was silent for a moment, and then leaned to the side, and peered out of the cockpit into the hallway.

"Did she put you up to this?"

"She who?" Starling asked in confusion.

Rolling his eyes, Kai's right arm snapped out and grabbed what at first appeared to be thin air, that was until it started moving and shouting.

"Put me down!" As soon as it spoke it made a loud squeak as Kai released his hand and dropped the 'thin air' to the ground.

A shimmer of light flashed revealing Tigger on her rear end pouting at the room's two older occupants.

"How'd you know I was there? There's no way you could have seen me, I was cloaked!" Tigger shouted in confusion and desperate to avert their attention away from the fact she had been caught spying on them.

With a slight grin, Kai tapped his nose before speaking.

"Run along now, mommy and daddy need to talk ok?"

Tigger snorted before pushing herself off the ground and leaving the cockpit grumbling.

"Where was I? Oh yeah, um, the only stuff I haven't told you is personal, so don't worry."

Seeing that her face didn't look the least bit relieved, he continued.

"I swear, you know everything that I have done that is of any consequence. I haven't made any deals with Lark, I haven't killed anyone, and I don't have a wife and or kid." Kai threw the last bit out as a joke to break the seriousness of the moment but couldn't help but laugh at the look on Starling's face.

Shadow gaped at the sight of nearly a dozen of the large insects from earlier.

Flying.

"They can fly! That's not fair!" Shadow shouted in frustration.

"Their bio-weapons Shadow! Of course their not going to be fair!" Piper shouted back before ducking to dodge the incoming stream of blaster fire.

Just as she climbed back to her feet she felt the ground shake and remembered the 'rock fish' was still around.

Throwing herself to the side she dodged its open maw only to get nicked in the arm by a stray blaster bolt.

"AHH!"

"Piper!" Shadow was about to run when said girl held up her uninjured arm.

"Stop! If you move the fish will see you!"

"And if we stand where we are now the bugs will get us!" Shadow shot back.

"I knew coming on this mission was a bad idea! I knew it!" Rondana shouted as she tried firing at the flying insects.

"_They won't last much longer. But if I help them…"_ The woman was brought out of her musings by a familiar tug.

It was faint, so weak that most people would have mistaken it for nothing more than a slight change in air currents, but for her, it was unmistakable.

"_No, it can't be, not after all this time."_

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she watched as the youngest of the group let lose a feral scream.

Shadow watched as the huge fish of rock leapt from underground and hurled itself towards Piper. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what would happen as soon as it landed. Piper would, at best, be crushed to death.

"_I've got to help her!"_ Shadow's mind screamed.

"_But what do I do? My Ax can't cut through that thing! And I'm no Wallop!"_ Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the thoughts ran through her head like a hive full of bees.

"_If I can't hurt the fish, and I can't move the fish, then I have to move Piper, but…how would I do that? It's not like I can just reach out and pull her,"_ Shadow's thoughts were cut short by a sudden flash of pain in her mind.

To her it felt like someone was driving an ice pick through her skull. One after another, flashes appeared and disappeared, the only sound she could hear being a high pitch whine. She saw a glacier filled ocean of water beneath her feet flash into endless forest that surrounded her. The forest vanished into then air only to be replaced by a mountain range that went on for miles before finally turning into the wide desert before her. The only thing that these vastly different places had in common were the people that also appeared in them.

Her mind flashed to a young man with bright blond hair, she recognized him as the one from the tomb. She saw the familiar cat ears from earlier, and an equally cat like tail that she had somehow missed. This face shifted to that of unfamiliar woman with short light red hair, almost pink in color. Again it flashed, this time to a slightly older woman with long black hair shaking her head and rolling her eyes. Next was a young man with light brown hair drawing two katana from his back lunging towards her.

At the last second, she saw her arm reach up and deflect the two sword strike with a single large broad sword. Her free hand then reached up and tendrils of what looked like smoke wrapped around the young man and threw him off to the side.

Looking down, she caught her reflection on the swords blade and was shocked by what she saw.

Her hair was much shorter, only reaching her jaw line. She also noticed that her face was much narrower and that her eyes were several shades darker than normal. It took a second for everything to register, but when it did she realized that she was not looking at her own reflection, but that of a teenage boy that looked quite a bit like her father.

The thoughts and images seemed to merge together in her mind forming a singular desire.

To fight.

"**YOU WANT A FIGHT YOU OVERSIZED GUPPY! TRY ME ON FOR SIZE!" **Shadow yelled in an eerie two toned voice as she reached her left arm up and 'threw' it towards Piper.

Piper closed her eyes, knowing that there was nothing that she could do. Her thoughts were clouded in anger and grief, but none the less, they were accepting what was about to happen. Hearing Shadow's voice however forced her eyes open.

Turning towards the shouting girl, her eyes widened as she saw a thick tendril of what appeared to be smoke extend from Shadow's hand and grab her by the waist. With a single hard tug, Shadow pulled Piper back several feet and out of the path of what would have otherwise been her doom.

Shadow felt something, she wasn't sure what it was, or how long it would last, but she knew that she would take full advantage of whatever it was for as long as she could.

Her entire body seemed to be on fire, like her veins were filled with molten lava. But at the same time her skin felt like she was standing in the middle of a blizzard in just her nightwear. The feeling of both extreme hot and cold mixed together filling her with a dullness that seemed to be spreading throughout her senses, like she was inside a cloud, or a smoke filled room.

After seeing that Piper was safe for the moment, she holstered her crystal ax before reaching out and flexing her fingers wide.

Marina felt something; or rather she could smell something in the air. Something foul. She was familiar with the various types of energies of the world, and had either used or been affected by most of them. What she was sensing right now however brought back, unwanted memories.

"_Whatever this power is, it's foul. I know that Kai uses dark energy, but this…this is not simply dark, this is evil. Kai's aura smells like a stale basement or dungeon_. _This…this smells like a rotting corpse, one long past due for burial."_

She watched as ten long thin tendrils shot out of the girls fingertips towards the airborne insects and snake around them.

The insects screeched out loudly, thrashing their arms to free themselves, but no matter how much they struggled, they were unable to break free.

Marina watched as the grim smirk on Shadow's face changed into a wicked sneer and she closed her open spread hands into fists. The insects gave one last high pitch screech before being engulfed by the smoky tendrils and disappearing into nothing but black wisps.

"_With this, with this no one will be able to stand in my way. Not even Kai could beat me with this power!"_ Shadow found herself floating in a world of darkness, a sunless world that was cold and barren. Had she seen it at any other time she would have trembled in fear, but now, now this was the world she desired, the world that she wanted more than anything.

_Shadow!_

Looking around for the source of the noise, she felt herself get thrown from her feet and was surprised to feel pain spreading across her backside.

Blinking, she looked up to see Piper above her with a worried look on her face.

"Why didn't you get down? That fish almost turned you into its sushi!"

Looking down she saw a large hole in the ground less than a foot from where she had been seconds before.

"Piper! Shadow! It's circling around! Look out!"

Hearing Rondana's warning, the two girls looked up to see the sun blocked from view by a large shadow.

A shadow with two fins and a tail.

"_Enemy's or not, I have to risk it now!"_

Shadow raised her arm to try and use the same ability she had on the insects earlier, but instead of tendrils, only smoky wisps emerge from her finger tips.

"_Great, it was working before, so why isn't it now?!"_

Both Shadow and Piper's ear's twitch at hearing a familiar sound coming from behind them at high speed.

"Duck now!"

Seeing Shadow's head turn towards the voice, Piper reacted from both instinct and experience by shoving her head down while at the same time ducking.

The two heared a charge of static electricity pass overhead followed by an explosion that threw them back several feet.

"Where did that come from?!" Shadow shouted as she sputtered sand and dirt out of her mouth.

As Piper tried to wipe her eyes, she sputtered back.

"Why are you asking me? I hit the deck as soon as I heard duck."

"Piper! Shadow! Behind you!"

Marina shouted her warning as she drew her two crystal blades and jumped to her friends/team mates defense.

She was surprised to see two swords emerge from the explosions dust cloud and block her assault with little effort.

"I save them, so you attack me? You have a rather unusual way of saying thank you," a decidedly female voice replies calmly.

Marina waited for the dust to settle, but subtly applied pressure to her blades, pressure that was met with equal strength.

"_Whoever she is, she's as strong as I am."_

After a few seconds pass, the swords wielder became visible. Whatever the group might have expected was nowhere close to what they got.

Marina found herself staring into a pair of dark green eyes that seem far older than they should. Taking a brief second, her eyes quickly scanned over the new comer and she played back what she saw in her mind to form a mental image.

"_She's about my age, but she's closer to Starling in build. I don't know what that thing she's wearing is, but it's not like any flight suit I've ever seen."_

True, instead of a thin microfiber cloth outfit like most squadies or talons wore; this person's outfit looked more like body armor of some sort. It was quite a bit thicker, and as far as she could tell, made from rubber, and had plastic pads on the joints for additional lightweight protection. The entire dark pink and silver outfit didn't have any visible seems, zippers or buttons, which told her that it was a single piece outfit meant to be worn for long periods at a time.

"_Ok, so based on the way she's dressed, and the fact that she hasn't budged an inch after blocking my attack, I'm going to guess that she's at least Sky Knight grade, maybe even higher."_

"Who are you, and why are you here?" Marina asked coldly.

The person didn't answer, but instead seemed to be searching her eyes for something, almost like she was seeing into her mind.

"It…it's you?"

Marina and the new comer both looked down to see Shadow wide eyed and pointing.

"You're the one I saw back in the tomb, aren't you?"

Marina noticed how the young woman flinched at the word 'tomb' and knew it to be true.

"And I see that you survived your little encounter with the wasp. I would love to continue our conversation from where we left it off, but your friend here seems to have other ideas," the woman replied with the same calm, neutral tone she had been speaking in since arriving.

"Marina! Down girl! Heel! She's friendly!"

Marina raised an eyebrow at Shadow's choice of words, but chose to ignore it for the moment.

Lessening the pressure she was applying, Marina took a step back before deactivating her weapons and returning them to her holsters. The entire time however, her eyes remained on the new comer without blinking. Though calm, her message was easy enough to read.

'Give me one excuse, please'

"Ok, first of all, who are, you never told me you name before."

The woman spun her two katana around her wrists three times before flipping them around into her back mounted sheaths, sending Marina a message of her own.

'You wouldn't last five seconds'

"I believe it is customary for someone to give their name first in introductions such as this," she said with a noticeably warmer and friendlier tone then the one from before.

"Oh, duh! Sorry about that. My name's Shadow. This is Piper, she's my squad mate, then over there, the one with the staff drawn is Rondana, she's a friend of a friend, and the scary one with the scimitars is Marina.

Radarr and Griffy ran up and took positions in front of Shadow and Piper at this point, both growling in warning to the new comer.

"Griffy! Radarr! Behave or no kibbles and bits for you!"

The two's ears twitched and they backed off, but not before giving on last growl.

The young woman smiled and held out her hand.

"Well then, you can call me Schaeffer. It's a pleasure to meet you Shadow."

"You still haven't answered my other question," Marina spoke up before the woman now know as 'Schaeffer' could continue.

"Again, I believe it would be more appropriate for you to answer that first. I did just save you after all," she replied with a still warm, but subtly edged tone.

"_Whoever she is, the girls into politics, that much I know for sure."_

Marina dispelled that thought before answering.

"I'm sorry, but our business is our ownand none of yours. Yes, you did save us from that…rock fish, but how do we know it wasn't you who set it on us the first place?"

Without blinking the woman responded.

"Why would I have need of doing such a thing? If I desired your demise I would have allowed you to become fish food. If I knew who you were and what your mission was, I wouldn't be asking. Likewise, if I was your enemy, I would have allowed you to be eaten rather than take the time to heal one of your group from a fatal injury, then save all of you from the rock fish."

"_Ok, now I know she's a politician. Either that, or she's royalty."_

Marina gave her the once over again and was shocked by one thing that she should have noticed from the start.

"_Good lord look at those ears! What is she, an elf?"_

It was true; the young woman had pointy elongated ears just like an elf.

"Look, we…we can't just tell you. I'm sorry, but it's a secret. Just know that we're the good guys, and we're trying to stop the bad guys," Shadow offered sincerely.

Looking back to Shadow, Schaeffer gave a small smirk.

"Tell you what, since you don't seem to be after me, why don't you come back to my home for a little while. There's a sandstorm brewing and I don't think any of you could survive outdoors through one."

Sure enough, Marina felt the air current change and could sense an approaching storm.

"_That's strange; I should have felt one like that before it got anywhere near this close."_

"Uh, you have a ship close by?" Rondana asked, not exactly looking forward to going through another storm ride.

The woman blinked before speaking.

"Ship? I'm sorry, but I was referring to my home. It's not too far from here. It shouldn't take long if your vehicles still function."

"Vehicles? They're just skimmers, nothing special," Shadow replied shrugging her shoulders.

"Ah, yes, your skimmers. I'm sorry, but healing you seemed to take a bit more out of me that I thought," she replied warmly.

"_She's lying. She didn't even know what a skimmer was, but how is that possible? Where has she been the last hundred years, a cave?"_

"You wouldn't mind if I rode with one of you, would you?"

Marina was now very cautious. She knew that the woman had somehow made it from the cave to where she was now faster than they had, which meant she must have had some form of transportation.

"_I don't like this one bit. Everything about this woman screams trap,"_ Marina thought.

"Sure, you can second sattle with me," Maraina said scooching forward to allow for a passenger behind her.

"_If she's up to something, I'm not going to let her hurt the others. Piper's been acting weird lately and probably needs to get out of the sun, Shadow's still weak and Rondana's a doctor. I'm the only one that could actually fight right now."_

The woman carefully climbed aboard the skimmer before speaking.

"Head into the city. It's at the center so it should be easy to spot."

Hearing this, the others revved up and took off into the city's ruins.

"All hands, prepare for lift off," Kai called out over the ships intercom.

"Uh, Kai. It's just the three of us," Tigger said pointing to herself then to Kai and finally to Starling.

Kai grinned sheepishly before activating the ships engines and allowed the ship to rise from the ground as smoothly as possible.

"Hold on to your seats, Air Kai is heading out!" Kai shouted before slamming down the accelerator to full.

"I told you not to do that again!!!" Tigger shouted as she felt herself being pushed back into her seat like she was riding a roller coaster.

"We've got to catch up to the girls. They've had three days head start and we're on a tight schedule," Kai replied happily as the freighter sped towards the locator beacon he had installed on his skimmer, which Piper had borrowed.

"_I've got a bad feeling about this place all of a sudden,"_ Kai thought before shifting his attention back to what was ahead of them.

"There! Up ahead!" Schaeffer shouted pointing at the tower like structure in the city's center.

"What is that thing? A keep of some sort?" Marina asked offhandedly.

"No, it's the control tower. But it's been my home for….quite a long time," the woman answered carefully.

The four came to a stop several feet from the towers base and dismounted.

"Where's the door? All I see's wall," Shadow said looking the strange tower up and down several times.

"Hold on, just give me one second," the woman ran up to the tower and placed her hand on the outside of it. After a few seconds passed a tiny hole appeared in the center and stretched open, almost like the metal making it were alive.

"Don't worry, it will stay open until I close it from the inside," Schaeffer answered their unasked question before stepping aside.

"Come in, please. It might not be the Grand Hotel but it is comfortable."

Shadow, having the most trust in the woman stepped inside first, followed by Griffy, then Piper and Radarr, who were followed by Rondana, and lastly Marina.

"What about our skimmers?" Marina asked once inside.

"Oh, just a sec," the woman touched the wall in slightly above where she had to open the 'door'. This time the effect was more immediate. The ground beneath the skimmers sunk down and was covered by a metal plate.

"That should keep them safe until the storm passes," she said before stepping inside and touching another panel on the wall, closing the door.

For a few seconds they were standing in complete darkness, but then they heard a warring sound and the room was illuminated by a series of blue lights running to the top.

Piper, Shadow, Rondana and Marain all stared around at the walls in amazement as they saw what appeared to be thousands upon thousand of screens suspended in mid air, all of which had writing of some sort running across it.

"Solar power in the middle of a desert, not bad huh?"

"This….what is this place?" Piper asked in a mix of wonder and glee.

"That is…a bit complicated. Let's go somewhere we can sit down first, and then we'll talk ok?"

"Go somewhere? This thing has no doors, no windows, and no exits! It's a trap!" Marina shouted ready to draw her blades.

"If she was trying to trap us, why would she come in with us?" Rondana asked with a sigh. She knew that Marina was just trying to look out for them, but she seemed to be a little more edgy than usual since the fight with the rock fish and insects now known as wasps.

"There are other floors, look, I'll show you," the woman ran her fingers across a panel on the wall, which after a series of beeps and chirps made a chime sound.

A few seconds passed and nothing seemed to happen.

"You were saying?" Marina said dryly, now sure that this had been a trap.

"Marina look!"

Following Piper's pointing finger, she saw that they actually were moving down, quickly too. But the elevator was completely silent. She couldn't even feel herself moving actually, the only indication of movement was the screens on the wall buzzing up around them.

Seconds later the elevator came to a stop and the group found themselves in a circular room that looked rather…shabby.

It had a couch that was in worse shape than the one on the Condor, a few seats in similar condition, and what looked like a beat up old fridge.

"It's been awhile since I had any company, so, please forgive the mess. It's not usually this bad."

"Bad? This is about what we're used to, eh Piper?" Shadow asked giving said bluenette a jab to the ribs.

"Ok, so you actually, like, live here?" Piper asked, completely ignoring Shadow's joke.

The older woman bit her lip before leading the others to the couch and chairs.

"Like I said, it's been a while since I've had company. Ever since the Night of Day, I've been cut off from the outside, and no one has visited. Has there been any news of what happened? Did they find out who did it?"

"Night of Day? What are you talking about?" Rondana asked, never having heard the term before.

"_Night of Day? Does she mean Twilight? But…that's impossible, that was,"_ Marina looked up at the woman slightly alarmed, but before she could speak, Piper cut in.

"Schaeffer, how long have you been here?" She asked carefully.

"How long have I been here? I don't know really. How long ago was February eighteenth two thousand and four A.D?"

The four girls looked at each other.

"Two thousand and four A.D? What calendar is that by?" Piper asked, having a tiny suspicion but not wanting to fuel it any.

"The only one I know of. What is today?" She asked not exactly understanding what the problem was.

"Schaeffer, today is January twenty fifth, one thousand six P.A.D"

"P.A.D? I'm sorry, but I am unfamiliar with that calendar system, what does it mean?"

"It stands for Post Aurora Discovery; it's the calendar system that's been in place since the Darkest Day."

"Darkest…Day? I'm sorry, but…what is this, Darkest Day you speak of?"

All four of the girls felt a cold tremor pass through them. Even though each came from a different background, they all knew what the term referred to.

"Where I come from…we called it Twilight," Maraina said lowering her head.

"But we know it as the Darkest Day. Schaeffer, I think….I think you know it as the Night of Day."

The young woman's eyes widened.

"But…that's impossible! I know it seemed a long time ago, but that would mean it was over a thousand years ago! That's not possible!"

"Schaeffer…did…did you know what a skimmer was, before I mentioned it?" Marina asked suddenly.

The young woman shook her head 'no' in response.

Lowering her head, Marina took a deep breath.

"How old are you?"

Everyone turned to Rondana.

"Excuse me?" The young woman asked slightly confused.

"I asked how old you are. No offense, but you're not exactly human either are you?"

"I…no…I'm not human," her shoulders slumped at this point. She jumped slightly when she felt a hand squeeze her shoulder.

"Don't feel bad, I'm not either, so you're not alone," Marina offered.

The woman gave a small smile in gratitude, but it was easy to tell that she was still reeling from what she had learned in the last few minutes.

"If you're not human…what are you?" This time it was Shadow that asked.

"I'm…well….some of the others referred to me as an elf, but I don't remember ever seeing another of my kind, so I'm not exactly sure," she replied with a shrug.

"An elf? Well, I guess that would explain the ears…." Piper said trying to raise the general mood to above the level of 'depressing'.

"But, it doesn't make sense. How could you be over a thousand years old? Is that normal for people from this terra?"

"Terra?"

The group groaned, knowing that this was going to be more difficult than they thought.

It took the group several hours, but they were able to give the woman a basic run down of what had happened in modern history, Piper however was the only major history buff in the group, so she had to try her best to explain what had happened in the gap between their two timelines.

"I wish Kai was here, he's better with this sort of thing," Piper said in frustration.

"Better with what?"

Grinning, Shadow answered Schaeffer's question. "He's good at dealing with stuff in real life that normal people read about in fiction."

The young woman looked slightly confused at first, but then laughed slightly. "I guess that would be true of my situation wouldn't it. Still, it makes sense, and it does explain why so much time has passed since the temple had any visitors."

"Temple?" Marina asked with a groan."

"Yes, the temple. After the third Great War, it was my sworn duty to continue our people's traditions at the temple every festival.

Piper's head jumped up.

_Flashback_

Kai nodded. "The ancients found this place four thousand years ago, discovering its tactical potential; they built the Mayfil fortress to protect it, insuring that only they could use the gate. Nearly three thousand years ago, at the climax of the third great war, the fortress fell into the hands of their enemy's, and was turned against them." Kai answered.

"Third Great War? But, there has only been one Great War." Piper said, noticing that her throat was drying up.

"One? The Great War you speak of, the one that is recoded in the history books was in fact the fourth Great War. The first three were so long ago, that they have been forgotten." Kai shivered slightly.

_Flashback end_

"You were there for the third Great War?" Piper asked with eyes wide.

"Well, yes. I was present for the first two as well….sort of," she responded.

"_If that's true, then that makes her over four thousand years old!"_

"Is…something wrong?"

"Schaeffer, you're not a thousand years old, your closer to four thousand years old, maybe even older." Piper said getting up and starting to pace the floor.

The woman's noise twitched slightly. "To be fair, I spent a fair portion of that time sealed away, so I wouldn't count all of it. Going by your system, I'd actually be close to seven thousand years of age."

Needless to say, that grabbed everyone's attention.

"Ok, I think we've told you enough, it's your turn to spill," Shadow said trying to figure out just what the heck was going on.

The woman sighed and closed her eyes.

A long time ago, I was sealed away by my father. I…to this day, I'm still unsure why he did it, but…we think that it was to protect me," at this point Marina cut her off.

"We?"

"I'm sorry, I mean myself and the others….the ones…you saw earlier…in the cave."

Marina nodded in understanding of what she meant and signaled for her to continue.

"I don't know how long I was sealed away, and I remember very little of what happened before then. I was only about twelve or thirteen at the time. My next memory was…being found and woken by the other warriors."

The others guessed that she was again referring to the ones now residing in the cave.

"Apparently, my father somehow transferred me into a crystal, and I was in a state of suspended animation for an unknown length of time."

Shadow raised her hand before speaking. "If you were trapped in a crystal, how are you here now?"

The young woman smiled warmly at this point.

"I was freed. It took them the better part of a year, but my friends found a way to reverse what my father did, and release me. I was overjoyed to be able to see and speak to my friends in person, since until then I could only speak to them and help them in small ways."

"Help them?" Piper asked, seeking some form of clarification.

"At the time….the third Great War had begun, but it was only in its initial phases. While inside the crystal, I was still able to help my friends by lending a small portion of my energy to them, and I still had all of the knowledge from before being imprisoned, just not the memories of how I got them."

"Lending energy? That sounds like what Kai does when he goes all glowy," Shadow said thoughtfully.

"What exactly…happened? I mean, you said you helped them, that means they were doing something to begin with right?" Piper asked, trying to steer the conversation away from Kai.

"Yes, they were. They were warriors, fighters for the people, but being as young as they were, they had to maintain absolute secrecy, some more than others," she added the last part bitterly.

"Why? I mean, in a war, you take whatever help you can get right?" Rondana asked as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

"You would think so, but at the time it was frowned upon for what most people considered to be children to fight in a war."

"Sounds like some things never change," Piper muttered darkly.

"They each had strengths of their own, but I was able to augment them with my powers to an even greater degree. One of my friends had weak telekinetic powers; I was able to strengthen those so that instead of struggling to move a book, she could lift a person or even a car with relative ease. Another was a star track runner; he gained the ability to run fast enough that he could go straight up a wall or tree with no trouble."

"That would cool," Shadow said before realizing that she was interrupting the older woman. "Sorry, go ahead."

"I helped them like that until I was freed. After that, I was able to help them in person, and was able to lend even more of my power to them."

"But how did you…you know, blend in. I mean, no offense, but those ears kind of stick out like a sore thumb," Piper said pointedly.

Smiling, the woman closed her eyes for a brief moment. Piper and Shadow both could have sworn that they heard a woman singing, but since Rondana and Marina didn't notice it, they kept it to themselves.

Seconds later the woman reopened her eyes, and her ears had changed to that of a normal humans.

"It took me a little while to get it so I could do this with so little trouble, but thankfully I had someone to teach me after being freed."

"But I thought you said you never saw another of your kind?" Marina asked, still not trusting the woman, but now at least willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"True, but I had a friend who was similar enough to help me." Smiling, the woman got up and quickly walked over to a small dresser at the back of the room. After fumbling around for a moment she returned.

"This was another of my friends, unlike the others; he didn't need much help from me, as he had powers of his own."

Handing the object to Marina, the others crowded around her to see what it was.

They were surprised to see it was a photograph, better in quality than the ones they had now.

In the picture they saw a young dark skinned teenager with red streaks in her hair, holding onto an even younger little girl that looked very similar to herself. Beside the young girl was another young girl about the same age, only she was lighter skinned and had bright red hair.

What caught everyone's attention however, was the blond haired young teen standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

His hands…looked more like paws than anything else. They also saw two triangle pointed ears on top of his head, and a cat like tail that was holding the oldest of the three girls by the waist possessively.

Everyone looked from the picture to Shadow.

"Is…that him?" Piper asked in a hushed tone.

Shadow looked the picture over carefully and compared it to the memory of the person she saw back in the cave.

"He looks….close, but the guy I saw was like, older, closer to Starling's age," she replied.

"That photo was from their wedding, he had just turned sixteen. His wife was about seventeen, and their daughters were about ten at the time." The woman was clearly fighting to control her emotions, but she had enough for the barrage of questions sent because of that one remark.

"DAUGHTERS!"

"WIFE!"

The woman laughed lightly before nodded her head in affirmation.

"That is correct. The one with red hair was his daughter; the other girl was his wife's from before they met."

"But…but..that's impossible! How could a seventeen year old have a ten year old child! That's not possible!" Rondana was half shocked and half horrified by the implications, but was snapped from this train of thought by the sound of laughter.

"I said they were their daughters, I didn't say they were their children. The two girls were orphaned by the war. My friends adopted them and took care of them to the best of their ability, which was actually how they met in the first place."

"Uh, could you…explain that a little better?" Shadow was getting a headache just trying to keep up and keep everything straight.

"Samantha was…a thief. She supported herself and her daughter by stealing from others. She made the mistake of trying to steal from an Oni however and was caught."

"Oni?" Piper asked, having heard the word somewhere, but not remembering where from.

"Oni are humans with the ability to shape shift at will. Normally they look like a half human half cat, but they can make themselves look like a normal human when it suites them."

"I'm guessing that's what he was right?" Marina asked pointing at the picture.

"Correct. He was the one who taught me how to use my powers in a finer manner. He also covered for my sudden appearance by claiming me to be his cousin."

"Who were the others? If you don't mind my asking," Rondana asked, now having calmed down from the whole child parent part.

The woman got up and retrieved a second picture. Piper noticed that she was having difficulty staying calm after taking just one glance at it, which she recognized to mean that the people in it were no longer living.

"This….was taken at the victory celebration, after we…after we won."

Piper and Marina both could tell that she was about to say something different, but had changed what she was going to say at the last minute.

Looking down at the photo, they saw a group of people all in their mid to early twenties. They saw the Oni from the previous photo with his wife and two children, but the others were all new faces.

Except to Shadow.

The first was a young man with short brown hair. He wore an outfit similar to Schaeffer's, but was yellow with black trim. Beside him was a young woman with long dark hair wearing a dark red outfit with maroon trim. The two didn't look happy, but at the same time seemed to be very content and just wanted the picture to be taken and out of the way. To her right was Schaeffer with a large smile on her face and her hands around a young blond mans neck. The blond, like Samantha was wearing what appeared to be normal street clothing and not a battle suit. Crouching in the front of the picture were the final two people of the group. One was a young woman with long dark hair that came to a very prominent widow's peek. She, like the blond and Samantha, was wearing normal clothing.

The last one however, made Shadow's jaw drop.

"Shadow, don't you think that guy could almost pass for Dark Ace?" Piper asked, not having heard the younger girl's deep intake of air.

"I…yeah, your right Piper, he could," she replied quickly.

The last person in the photo was a young man in his mid twenties. He wore a white and blue colored battle suite that looked a bit older than the others, who had actual armor. His hair was an unnaturally dark shade of black and came down to his jaw line. Everyone else in the photo looked at least borderline happy, but he seemed to be either mildly angry or depressed.

That….was after we got him back," Schaeffer said softly.

"Got him back? What do you mean?" Shadow asked, now very curious.

"He….was the last member of our group. He had helped us many times during the war, but we were very cautious about letting anyone in on our secret. We did finally allow him to join us, but…on his first mission, he…"

Shadow felt something inside her stir as the conversation continued. The feeling was strange, but not uncomfortable. It felt like, something was coming together, almost like something was willing her to listen.

"I knew little of technology when the others freed me, but I knew much of energy manipulation. We were able to combine my knowledge and powers with their knowledge and technology. This was the one thing that gave us a chance to fight since our enemy's had the same capabilities. We were the only ones that could fight on equal footing since the very start. Towards the end of the war however, we knew that the only way to win, the only way we could even survive, was for our group to become even stronger. At the time, the only way we had to do this was by adding a new member to our group."

"Let me guess, he stabbed you in the back and turned on you right?" Piper asked coldly.

Shadow felt a mixture of anger and grief from Piper's comment, but choose to remain quiet.

"Yes, and no. He never once turned against us of his own free will. When I was transferring my power to him so that he would be at the same lever as the others…we were attacked. Our enemy's had discovered our base and launched a full scale assault. Once the process was started I couldn't stop it until it was completed. If I had, both of us would have died. The others tried their best to buy us time, but…it just wasn't enough."

"What happened?" Shadow asked with a gulp.

"Remember how I told you that our enemy had the same capabilities as us?" Seeing the others nod, she continued.

"That included power transfer and manipulation. He poured a tremendous amount of his own power into the mix, and corrupted the process. When it was over….our base was destroyed by the hand of the very same friend who wanted nothing more than to help us out in any way he could."

_Click_

Reaching out, Shadow squeezed Schaeffer's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. You did everything you could at the time."

"IT WAS MY FAULT! It was my power that fed him, my process that corrupted him! It was my fault that he spent eleven years of his life as a puppet and was forced to fight his closest friends!"

Everyone was shocked by the woman's outburst, but none were as shocked as Shadow.

"_Eleven years? That's the same as!"_ Shadow could almost see in her mind a puzzle piece drop onto a table beside a nearly completed puzzle. A piece that had been missing for many, many years.

"Why eleven years?" She asked carefully.

The woman managed to regain control of her emotions to the point she was able to answer.

"It took us eleven years to find a way to break the curse," she replied bitterly.

"How…did you break it?" Piper asked wondering why Shadow was so interested.

Schaeffer's only response was tapping the photo, more specifically, the woman kneeling beside the last team member.

"We were never able to find a way to completely break it, but she was able to weaken it enough that he regained control. There were a few occasions before then that he regained control temporarily, but he was never able to maintain it for longer than a few minutes."

Shadow studied the picture a bit closer and noticed something she hadn't earlier. The man who was crouching wasn't angry or depressed in the picture; he was shooting a glare at the yellow clad warrior, who seemed to be shooting a similar glare back. Upon closer inspection she also noticed that the yellow warrior had his arm wrapped rather possessively around the maroon woman's waist.

"_It's her fault that my dad…no, no it wasn't her fault. She wasn't the one who cursed him, and there was no way that she could have known at the time what was going to happen."_ Shadow's thoughts were interrupted by Piper shaking her shoulder.

"Shadow! Look! The picture!"

Looking down, Shadow saw that Piper was pointing at the young red haired girl's neckline.

More specifically, what was on it.

"That almost looks like the Griffin Stone, doesn't it Shadow?" Rondana asked getting a better look after swatting away Piper's index finger.

"It does!" Reaching into her neckline, Shadow pulled out the necklace to compare it.

"Where did you get that?!"

Shadow turned to Schaeffer with a warm smile on her face. "A close friend gave it to me, before she died."

"Isn't that the crystal that lets you talk to animals?" Marina asked, having seen it a few times but never in use.

"You can, you can actually use it?" Schaeffer asked in awe.

"Yeah, is…that a bad thing?" She asked, now worried.

Schaeffer shook her head. Not at all, it's just a surprise to meet someone related to a close friend, that's all."

It took a few seconds for that bit of info to sink in, but the effect was instant.

"WHAT!"

Smiling warming, Schaeffer reached out towards the necklace. "May I?"

Nodding, Shadow allowed the older woman to hold it for closer inspection.

"It's the same one alright. Oni have the ability to speak to animals from birth, but humans don't. He made this for her when she turned twelve. It would only work for her, or her children though."

"Cool! Shadow, this means that you're a descendent of hers!"

Shadow shot Piper a low lever glare. "I figured that out on my own Piper, I'm not dumb." While speaking she couldn't help but notice the look Schaeffer was sending her.

Trying to change the subject, Shadow noticed something else in the photo. "Hey Piper, doesn't that look like Tigger's old Healing Crystal?"

Sure enough, the woman crouching beside the 'traitor' was wearing a crystal necklace that was eerily familiar.

"That was a gift from her mother. She was a nurse, but died during an attack when she was very little. You called it, Tigger's Healing Crystal, might I ask why?"

"Well, one of my friends had a crystal that looked a lot like that a while back. It let her heal any superficial injury a person had, but it always left her feeling down and depressed after using it for some reason."

Schaeffer nodded her head thoughtfully. "That unfortunately sounds about right as well. What happened to it? You said, used to have?"

Shadow got more than just a little uncomfortable at this point.

"Well, it kinda, sorta, shattered into a million pieces," seeing the woman's expression change to one of alarm she continued. "It was for a good cause though, it save a lot of peoples lives!"

Schaeffer seemed to calm down a little bit, but still didn't seem to happy with the information. She handed the Griffin Stone back to Shadow before getting up to leave.

"It's dark out; maybe we should continue this tomorrow ok? You're free to stay here if you wish."

Seeing as they didn't have anything better to do at the moment, the group agreed.

"Fine, but I need to contact Kai and tell him that…things are different than we anticipated."

If she heard Marina, Schaeffer didn't show any sign of it. She simply continued towards the corner of the room she had retrieved the photos from and almost seemed to disappear into thin air.

Chapter 13 end.

AN: Whew, that was the ending that just wouldn't die lol. I know this chapter was long, but I wanted to avoid any cliff hangers for a while, and it's been a few days since I updated. The Phoenixes Fire was the closest (and only) person to guess so she won the riddle. I'll be sending the list of choices to you soon via PM or review reply. (See, I mention my peeps , all the more reason to review.)

If anyone hasn't figured it out yet, this terra and the people mentioned in this chapter are based off of the characters from Code Lyoko, which is the property of Moonscape not me. Schaeffer, is the real last name of Aelita, Hopper was her mothers maiden name, but we never learned that stateside since the last seven episodes were never aired (shakes fist at cartoon network.) To this day, why only season one was released on DVD, while Power Puff Girls just got a complete series box set released is beyond me, but that's a rant for another day.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. Many questions have been answered, and even more are now left to ask. How will the group continue their mission now that they have found a living Ancient? What were the strange powers Shadow manifested, and what will become of them? Find out next time, in Winds of Change II Chapter 14: Two Choices, One Decision!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	14. Two Choices, One Decision!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 14: Two Choices, One Decision!

AN: So the chapters a bit overdue, and its short compared to the others, yeah, I know. Things have been hectic, and I just couldn't figure out a way to get one part of this chapter done. I've been fighting with it since I started writing this story, but even after al this time I wasn't happy with the solution. It's kind of lame, I know, but trust me when I say the rest of the story's been planed out to the T. I hope you can forgive my lateness, I promise that next chapter will make up for any disappointment this one causes. As for last chapter, Twilight, The Day of Night, and the Darkest Day, are all different names to the same thing, it's a as of now unknown event that caused Earth to become Atmos. Sorry I didn't explain that last chapter.

Also don't forget check out Arashi21's new story: Fighting Wings! Which ties in with the Winds of Change serie, but is told through the eyes of Kestrel!

Again, I want to give a big time shout out to Miss D, Mrs J Black, and Shadow Queen for letting me play with their timeline a bit, thx girls! I've fallen in love with the back-story I've made and might write out the whole thing after finishing this story off!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda, or Code Lyoko. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment, Nintendo and Moonscape, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

"Hey, uh, Marina, you contact Kai, I had something I wanted to ask Schaeffer…in private. You don't mind do you?" Shadow asked carefully.

Marina shrugged her shoulders before pulling out her handheld radio to update the others.

Kai stared blankly ahead, only able to blink in response to what he had just been told.

Tigger poked the back of his head while Starling reached over and pulled the radio receiver from his clinching hand.

"Uh, could you repeat that Marina? I'm afraid Kai is…" Starling searched for the word, which Tigger readily supplied.

"Broken?"

Starling shot Tigger a weak glare before turning her attention back to the radio.

"I said that we've come across a bit of a…problem. Looks like not all the Ancients are...well….dead."

Kai shook his head before snatching the radio back from Starling.

"You mean to tell me, that you found, a living, breathing, Ancient?"

There was a brief pause before Marina replied.

"By all technicality, yes, she is an Ancient. However, she's not…human."

"Then what is she?" Kai asked losing patience.

Marina cringed, knowing that what she was about to say had zero percent chance of being taken seriously. "Well…she's….an elf. She claims to have never seen another of her species, and to not only have witnessed, but actually participated in the third Great War…whatever that is."

Kai groaned before slamming his head on the back of his seat.

"Don't do…anything. We'll be arriving in a few hours. Sandstorm or not, this just doesn't feel right," Kai said exasperatedly.

"We'll be waiting for you're arrival. Glad to hear that you didn't kill each other while we were away," Marina teased.

Tigger snatched the radio from Kai, but before she could speak he shut it off.

Pouting the young blond handed it back before sitting in her chair.

"Big meenie," she said sticking out her tongue.

"Don't make me turn this ship around," Kai shot back.

Starling rolled her eyes and shook her head, however when she was sure that nobody was watching she allowed a small smile.

Shadow knocked on the metal wall around the area they had seen Schaeffer disappear into. Before her hand could strike it again she fell forward into an open hole which quickly closed behind her.

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you first," Schaeffer said holding out her hand.

Shadow accepted the help, and was surprised when the thin woman lifted her to her feet with no trouble at all.

"Geeze, your stronger than most guys," Shadow said to break the silence.

Schaeffer looked away without replying, which made Shadow sigh.

"Look, you know something, something that I need to know, or at least should be told."

The woman looked up at Shadow with a face that showed many, many years worth of grief, but was still exercising restraint over it.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault," she said turning away.

"Oh no you don't! I want you to tell me exactly what is going on. You were telling the truth back there, but the entire time I saw you shooting me glances. What happened back there with the Wasps? How did I do…that thing with the smoke? What's happening to me?!" Shadow demanded.

The woman bit her lip before walking towards the opposite end of the room.

"It would be easier to show you first, and than explain," she replied.

Shadow narrowed her eyes as she followed the woman.

Schaeffer waved her hand, which somehow caused several crystals on the wall to light up. Thinking back, Shadow remembered seeing Kai do something similar back in terra Deep, but ignored that little fact since she had more pressing matters to deal with.

Now seeing the area that had previously been pitch black for the first time, Shadow figured out to some degree what was going on.

Along the wall were several weapons, all of which she had seen when she used the 'smoke' ability earlier. The first was a pair of what looked like wrist mounted crossbows. Though they were only four inches wide, she knew they were dangerous, having seen similar weapons in the past. Under these was a single curved dagger which glowed with a dark crimson aura. She thought that it belonged to the thief, Samantha, if she wasn't mistaken, but she had only seen a single glimpse of it before.

To the right of these were a pair of crossed katana. She recognized these as the ones Schaeffer had been using earlier, and as having belonged to the yellow clad swordsman. With these, were what looked like a normal pair of fans, one above and one bellow the crossed katana. Upon closer inspection however, she could see that they had a very fine serrated edge to them, and knew that they too were dangerous.

In the center however, was what she assumed to be what Schaeffer wanted her to see. Pointed down with its handle skyward, was a large broadsword.

Or at least what used to be one.

The once normal blade now had what looked like a fleshy growth around its handle that spread to cover the lower quarter of the blade, coming to a stop at a bulge in the blades center.

"This….was how William was….controlled during the War. It took us eleven years to weaken the curse, and even then he suffered relapses from time to time," Schaeffer said sadly.

What does this have to do with me?" Shadow was cut off by the older woman.

"As I said, the sword was how William was controlled. Our enemy put a large portion of his own power into the sword when I was charging both it and William. Alone, William would have been able to break free through sheer force of will. With both he and his blade cursed however, it was like having his will doubled and then thrown back at him. The stronger his will became, the stronger the blade would push him back."

Shadow tried to piece this information together and make heads or tales of it.

"_Ok, so he was cursed, then they weakened it somehow. He was able to regain his free will and helped them out in the end. After that, the curse continued though is bloodline until just last year when Tigger finally broke it once and for all. But…this isn't adding up. If the curse was broken, then why would it affect me at all? And I still don't get what that wired smoke thing I did was. I know I saw William use it in that memory flash thing, but Schaeffer said he was under the curses influence at that time…"_ Looking up, Shadow shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I still don't get it. What does the curse have to do with what I did back out there?" Shadow asked.

Schaeffer took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a brief second before opening them to respond.

"I know that William's blood flows through your veins. I know that his curse is inside you, and I know that you have tried to hide this fact from your comrades," she said calmly.

Shadow's eyes widened.

"The ability you used to save your friend from the Rock Fish, was a power that William received through the curse. Only someone with his blood would be able to perform it."

Gulping, Shadow readied her defense.

"But the curse was broken! Tigger broke it when she kissed Aladd! No more curse! End of story!" Shadow fired back.

Schaeffer shook her head sadly.

"That is where you are wrong. Your friend merely put the curse in a dormant state. It is still very much alive, as you demonstrated so aptly for us earlier."

Shadow shook her head slowly.

"No…no….no no no no…no! I am not a traitor! I will never betray my friends!" Shadow shouted in both anger and desperation.

At this, Schaeffer lowered her head solemnly. "You won't have a choice, not if it comes to that."

Now, choking to hold back her tears, Shadow asked the only question she could.

"Why?" She asked weakly.

Looking back up, Schaeffer reached out and wiped away Shadow's tears with her thumb.

"Because, the curse has three parts. It is true that it can go into remission and be forced dormant, but if any two parts of the curse are rejoined, then it will become active again. Shadow, I can feel it pulsate within your body every time your heart beats, I can feel the curse drawing power every passing second."

Shadow sniffed to hold back her tears, knowing that she was in a very bad situation.

"What? Why? How?" She pleaded, her arms shaking in both anger and despair.

Schaeffer reached out to her arm, and pulled up her sleeve, exposing her arm, before doing the same to Shadow.

"Remember, I told you that my power was intermingled with his during the charging process. Any part of my power that is on this terra, I can feel. Including the curse. The curse that is in your blood Shadow." Schaeffer waited for a few seconds before continuing, allowing the girl to absorb and process the information.

"But…why is it…waking up? I haven't done anything since I got here?" Shadow asked, managing to keep her shaking to a minimum.

"That, is exactly what caused it to stir. Remember how I told you there were three parts to the curse?"

Shadow nodded.

"Those three parts are the person's blood, the sword, and this terra itself. As soon as you set foot on this terra, it caused your blood to stir, and began to reawaken the curse within you. I don't know how long it will take to fully reawaken, but it won't take long, not with you this close to the sword. You need to get out of here, and soon."

Shadow looked up suddenly.

"You mean, its not…awake yet?" She asked hopefully.

Schaeffer shook her head.

"No, not yet. But I can feel the pulsations growing."

Shadow nodded before sniffling again.

"But, why the terra? I mean, why would that set it off?" Shadow asked in confusion.

This caused Schaeffer to look down shamefully.

"Because…of me," she replied.

Kai was currently trying to figure out just how they were going to be able to get out of this mess. Sure, he hoped that they could just blow up the place and transport the…elf, to another terra, but he had a lingering sense of doubt that that would work.

"Hey Kai? What are those?" Tigger asked pointing at the ships radar.

Now Tigger was very smart. She knew what a radar screen normally looked like, but Kai's was far from normal. Under the screen was a small needle that from time to time she had seen move slightly, but not often enough to figure out what it was. Only that it was not a compass, gyroscope, or flight instrument of any sort.

Added to that, she had never seen a radar screen that had _red_ blips along the rim.

Seeing the small flashing blips, Kai groaned.

"Well, looks like the heat is on now. Thanks for the warning Tigger," Kai said as he pushed the throttle to max.

"You never answered my question Kai! Again! What is that?" She asked, not liking that she was being ignored.

"Ok kiddo, welcome to Murk Tech 101. That there is a radar sonar system. It detects anything that moves via sound wave reflection," Tigger cut him off.

"I know how radar works! And sonar! Now what are those red blips?!" Tigger demanded.

Kai looked over his shoulder to Tigger with a face devoid of any emotion.

"Those are engine echoes from Cyclonian's. Lot's of em."

Tigger looked over to Starling, who paled slightly.

"We're on the clock now. If Lark is anything like she used to be, she's caught wind of what we're doing, and has probably sent out several battle groups to reach the other sites as we speak."

"Then that means were too late?" Starling asked glumly.

Kai shook his head.

"No, it just makes things more…interesting," Kai said with a gleam in his eye.

"You? But how is that possible?" Shadow asked, now even more confused.

"Shadow, this…is going to be very difficult for me to explain, just…try, ok?" Schaeffer asked sitting down on her bed with a sigh.

Not having any other choice, Shadow sat down beside the older woman cautiously.

"Remember what I said before about the curse? About how it was made by corrupting my powers during the transfer process? Well, my powers, come from this terra, as you call it."

Shadow squinted her eyes in concentration, having heard something like this not to long ago, but unable to remember where from.

"Since my powers were used in part to make the curse, and this terra is what feeds me, the terra itself is in a way cursed, but only to people of William's blood," Schaeffer explained.

"But…it's been thousands of years? Why would that affect me?" Shadow asked, still not understanding exactly what was going on. "And I don't remember anyone from my family ever having those…powers. If he had them, I'm sure that my…" Shadow stopped short of saying 'father' but Schaeffer understood where she was going.

"Those powers are part of the curse tired to myself and this terra. Think Shadow, if my powers were originally meant to protect this terra, then those who draw power from me would be the same, correct?"

Shadow's eyes widened. "So that means they wouldn't work anywhere but this terra!"

Schaeffer winced slightly.

"Not exactly, but close enough. If we were to leave the terra together, it would still awaken. Likewise, if you took the sword with you, or if I took the sword and left you on this terra, it would have the same effect. The only way to keep the curse from coming out of its dormant state is to get you as far from me, that sword, and this terra as possible, as quickly as possible," Schaeffer said in a tight voice.

Shadow nodded her head, now getting the picture.

"Well, I don't think Kai will let us leave until he's blown upeeerrr, until he's sure the mission is complete," Shadow replied almost slipping.

"Can you tell me what it is your doing out here? Anything at all?" Schaeffer asked carefully.

Shadow shook her head sadly. "I really wish I could, believe me, I really do, but…I can't."

To her surprise, a small smile graced Schaeffer's lips.

"Trust me when I say this Shadow, I know the value of keeping something secret, even from a close friend."

Shadow bit her lip, knowing that what she was about to ask was unfair, but she had to do it, for herself.

"Can you…tell me about them? My family, that you know, knew?"

Schaeffer's smile went from small, to slightly larger with a warm touch to it, one that reminded her of how a grandmother would look at their grandchildren.

"Of course. What would you like to know?"

"Well, why is it called the Catseye curse? I mean, from what I saw, William didn't look anything like a cat."

Schaeffer laughed at the girls reasoning.

"William had only a single child by his wife, Elizabeth. A daughter. She married a young man whose name was Catseye. They, unlike her family, had several children, all boys. Since the curse flowed in their blood, and they all….fell victim to it, it was named the Catseye curse, rather than the Dunbar curse."

"Dunbar? Oh lord, he was cursed the second he was born," Shadow groaned just imagining all the jokes and jabs that could have come from his name alone.

"As for William himself, he was a very good person at heart, just not very apt at…being around people."

"Well eleven years of puppetry will do that to a person," Shadow said without thinking. Eyes wide she was about to apologize to Schaeffer when the older woman held up her hand stopping her.

"I know, but even before then, he had trouble. His mother died when he way very young, and his father shipped him here for schooling."

"_Geeze, looks like family issues runs with the curse too,"_ Shadow thought bitterly.

"He made…a unique first impression with us, but he was always there when we needed him. He came close to discovering our secret several times, but we managed to throw him off whenever he got too close."

Shadow nodded in understanding again. She was starting to wonder if Kai was somehow a long distance cousin of hers but quickly banished the idea. Kai's family was a horror in of itself. Not quite traitor grade, but between what Kai and Starling had told her, along with the one encounter she had with his mother, Shadow knew it was a whole different kind of trouble.

"What was he like?" She asked, smiling as she leaned back on her hands, relaxing on top of the bed.

"Well, I already told you that he had a strong will, but he also had a pretty quick and sharp wit about him. He might not have been the smartest guy around, but he always knew when something was up. I remember several times when he actually picked up on things all of us had completely overlooked."

"_He…really does sound a lot like dad,"_ Shadow thought as her smile weakened ever slightly.

"In combat, he had no equal. One on one he was the strongest fighter I have ever seen. Even against multiple opponents he was a threat."

Shadow noticed that Schaeffer looked back to the mounted sword and shivered slightly.

"He practiced in his free time. Claiming that it was exercise and…how did he put it? Anger management? Yes, that sounds about right. His only real weakness was that he lacked self confidence."

Seeing Shadow's eyes bug out, Schaeffer elaborated.

"He had it pretty rough. His father had unreasonably high expectations for him. It didn't matter that he played on every team our school had or that he was in the top ten of his class, because he wasn't the captain for every team and wasn't _the_ top of his class."

Shadow snorted. "I would have loved to meet him."

Schaeffer nodded sadly.

"What about the other one? The red head?"

Schaeffer's smile grew twice as large.

"Her name was Milly, and as I told you, she was adopted, just as her sister was." Shadow cut in at the reminder.

"How did that happen? I mean, come on, a sixteen year old getting married and trying to….what did he tell everyone?" Shadow asked with raised eyebrows.

Schaeffer laughed for what seemed several minutes but could have been just a few seconds.

"That is a very interesting story my friend. You see, he found her the day he arrived here. His family had been wary of sending their son out at such a young age, but he had become close friends with another of the students, one that was a prince actually."

Shadow jumped up at attention squealing.

"Ok, the guy in the cave called you princess, and you just said he was a prince, any other royalty in this little group of yours?" Shadow asked excitedly.

Schaeffer tapped her chin in thought for several seconds before replying.

"Only one, Elizabeth was the daughter of this…terra's ruler. And to clarify, I'm not really royalty. My friends called me Princess because of…well, our group's founder treated me like one, I guess you could say."

"Let me guess, some old geezer that wanted to adopt you to replace his daughter right?" Shadow asked sarcastically.

All Shadow saw was a pink blur, and then felt a pain shoot through her backside.

Looking around she noticed that she was no longer on the bed, but rather on the floor looking up at a rather irate pinkette.

"He was fourteen when we first meet, thank you very much." She said crossing her arms with a slight puff.

Shadow got up carefully trying to hold back a snicker. "Well, in that case, I think he had a crush on you."

Schaeffer shook her head softly.

"No, he did not."

Shadow rolled her eyes. "Oh come on. It sounds like he was always worrying about you and probably spoiled you rotten, if that's not a crush, then I don't know what is."

Schaeffer smirked before slowly, and elegantly holding up her left hand towards Shadow.

It took a second for her to figure out what the older woman was trying to say, but seeing what was on her ring finger summed it up.

"HOLY BLOODLY MARRY! Where'd he find a rock like that?" Shadow shouted with bugged out eyes.

Schaeffer let out a feathery laugh.

"Ah ah ah. It would be rude to kiss and tell."

Shadow blinked a few times before the message registered.

"CRADLE ROBBER!"

Schaeffer pouted in response. "Why did the others call me that then too? I still don't get it. I never once stole from any of our children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren." The pinkette said in confusion.

"_She can't be serious can she? He was fourteen when they met, so she still would have been like, two, three thousand years old?"_

Giving the woman a once over, Shadow did have to admit that she was far from ugly. For someone to be several thousand years old, and to have had what sounded like several kids of her own, yet still look like she was only in her mid to late twenties _and_ still be in Olympic grade shape was nothing to sneeze at.

"Ok, back to the others, what were there stories?"

"Well, the Oni Della, or rather, Odd as he christened himself, had become close friends to the son of his countries ruler."

"Country?" Shadow asked in confusion.

"Terra," Schaeffer corrected herself before continuing.

"Anyway, Oni…Odd's father was a portrait artist for the royal court, and so by default, he became close friends with the king's son."

"Did anyone else know about…well, you know, him being an Oni?" Shadow asked suddenly.

"Yes, two others in the city knew, well, a few others found out, but nobody believed them, and they were executed shortly later, so it didn't matter."

Shadows eyes bugged out again. "Ok, you are so much like Kai it's scary. Don't just give facts, tell the story ok?" Shadow asked slowly.

"Oh, yes, of course. You see, the two were close friends, along with the princes life guard, they were rarely seen apart."

Shadow cut in again. "Life guard? You mean like those hot guys at the beaches and pools that always run real slow?"

Schaeffer laughed again before responding. "No, not quite, that's a lifeguard, single word. Life guard, or guardian for life, is a person assigned to a member of the royal house at birth, from one of the lesser houses, or as you would call them, non royal nobles."

"Ohhh, ok…who was the prince's life guard?"

Schaeffer grinned before pointing at the wall behind them, or rather, the twin fans on the wall.

It took a second for the action to click to Shadow, but when it did she grinned. "Ooohh, I get it now. Let me guess, the two got a little too close right?"

With a grin, Schaeffer rolled her eyes. "You have no idea. At any rate, the three of them were returning from a festival one night when a group of armed men attempted to capture the prince. According to them, he fought very well, and his life guard fought valiantly, but it was ten armed adults against three kids, the oldest of which was fourteen, so it was a bit one-sided."

"What happened?" Shadow asked excitedly, wishing that she had some popcorn.

"Odd…transformed, he revealed his true form so that he could protect his friends."

"Oh boy, I bet that went over beautifully with his folks," Shadow said shaking her head.

"They…were going to leave that night, when he told them what happened," Schaeffer said sadly. "The prince, while young, was well trained and schooled in the ancient ways. He figured that they would try to sneak out, so upon arriving at the palace he rushed to his father and…reported what happened."

Shadow was starting to wonder just how many traitors this one group had produced when Schaeffer continued.

"The king summoned both Odd and his parents immediately, and….threw a banquet feast in their sons honor."

"But, I thought mythic creatures like that were hunted, that's why there were so few left?" Shadow asked.

Schaeffer grinned. "As I said, the prince was well schooled. He told his father that the three of them had been attacked, and that while he and his life guard battled with the five that tried to jump them, Odd had found some conveniently dropped knives and used them to take out the five that tried to sneak up on them, thus explaining the 'claw' wounds on the men. Since his life guard confirmed the story, even going so far as to request the boy teach her some of the moves he had used, the father had no reason to believe otherwise. Three witnesses, one of which was his son, against ten adults that tried to kidnap and or kill them? It wasn't a surprise that everyone thought they were nuts."

But, what about his parents? I mean, they would have been upset with him right?"

"Oh, they were, he was in pretty hot water for awhile, but having the future heir of your coun….terra thank you personally and bow in appreciation lessened it quite a bit."

"So, where did his…daughter and wife come in?" Shadow asked, enjoying every second of listening to the older woman's story.

"_It's just like when Kai used to visit us on the Condor."_ Shadow thought before frowning slightly.

"_Schaeffer's actually a lot like him…I wonder if he's gone through half the stuff she has? I mean, yeah, he used to tell me stories all the time, but, I thought most of them were just old legends and junk. I never actually thought they could have been…real….or been related to him in some way."_ Thinking back to all the times she and the older teen had been together, she couldn't help but feel a slight pain in her chest. Her last words to him so many days ago, and the hurt expression on his face, they both came back hitting her like a sledge hammer.

"_Kai, I'm sorry…I..I need to talk to him when we get of this dirt ball."_ Shadow decided.

"Shadow, are you alright?" Schaeffer asked slightly worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just…just remembering something I need to do when we get out of here…something important."

"Where was I now? Oh yes, his daughter. Well, you see, the war had already begun, but it was actually two wars at once. A seeable war, one that everyone knew about, and a…well, I guess you could call it a shadow war. When war was declared on the royal family, they sent their son to an allied terra so that he would be safe. His life guard went as well, but…there was a problem."

Shadow didn't say anything; instead she just motioned with her hands for her to continue.

"His cover was that he was just the son of a court official, which got him into the palace and royal academe. His life guard went as herself since her father was a known noble, but…they were separated, as it turned out the royal academy had separate living quarters for male and female students."

Shadow shrugged her shoulders.

"Sounds pretty normal to me. What were they divided by? One floor?" She asked.

"They were in separate wings of the palace grounds. Also, since she was eight months older, she was put in a higher class, so, for the most part, the prince was unprotected."

"Ok, that is bad."

Schaeffer nodded. "Odd volunteered himself as a royal guard, which his parents protested to at first, but when he made it clear that he was going to help his friend with their support or not, they relented."

"Wow, he sounds like a great friend to have had," Shadow said smiling warmly.

"Well, that and he had six older sisters, so I think he might have just wanted to get away from them for a bit."

Shadow nearly fell on her butt laughing at that one.

"Anyways, when he arrived, there was an attack, and several buildings were destroyed as a result. The prince and his life guard had arrived to pick him up, so they were there when the blast went off. They thought his cover had been blown, but it turned out to just be a random terrorist attack."

"Just a random terrorist attack? You make it sound like that was normal," Shadow said gaping.

"Well, at the time, it was actually. It was a dark time in history, and many people died. Two of which were Milly's parents."

Shadow wanted to shout about how the woman could just say stuff like this with no trouble at all, but the look in her eyes told Shadow that it had affected her, just that she had plenty of practice at covering her emotions over, same as Kai, Starling, Marina, and even Aerrow.

"The three of them managed to pull her from her parent's vehicle before it…went up. She wasn't too badly injured, just some nasty scrapes and bruises, but Odd had to use his true form to get her out, so she knew, well, she knew something was up, but she was too mentally distraught to make anything of it at the time."

"That's horrible!" Shadow shouted.

Schaeffer nodded sadly.

"They brought her to the academy to treat her injuries…and…well, that's when things got…complicated."

Shadow smirked. "Oh, I like this girl already."

"She threatened to expose Odd's true nature, the others knew it was a bluff, and I'm sure he did too, but instead of calling her on it, he folded. My future husband was the son of the local magistrate, and would, on occasion help with the records. He managed to alter her file so that she was allowed into the academy permanently, and Odd, well, since she had seen his true form, and had in all essence blackmailed him, he got her back by getting her to sign a contract. It turned out that the contract was actually a modified adoption certificate, which the prince notarized, and the assistant magistrate filed, making her 'his' daughter."

Shadow laughed. "Man, that must have stung, but why would he adopt her?"

"Because, she had nowhere else to go, no family, and no home to return to. Odd had a bit of a soft spot to him, particularly for girls." Schaeffer said narrowing her eyes at several, select memories.

"Having six older sisters made him that way, I guess." Shadow said still laughing.

"True, but he was still a shameless flirt."

"Ok, how about his wife? You said their daughters already knew each other right?"

Schaeffer nodded. "Yes, Samantha had altered her daughter's records so that she was admitted that same week. She was, in some ways royalty I guess. She was called, Princess of the Night, or the Princess of Thieves. She actually lived up to that title too. She managed to steal from everyone else other than Odd and get away scot free. With him, she tried, but…well, between his superior hearing and keen sense of smell, she didn't have a prayer of getting away," Schaeffer said grinning.

"Oh, but I bet she gave him a good fight, am I right?" Shadow asked seeing the chase in her mind.

Schaeffer nodded. "You are correct. She was able to fight him in his human form as an equal. Even when he brought out his true form, she held him back until the others arrived. As good as she was though; she was no match for an Oni, a sword master, and an assassin in training all together. Though she did give them each a black eye, and Ulrich was limping for several days due to a…um…unorthodoxed attack."

"Let me guess, she kicked him in the crown jewels right?" Shadow asked grinning.

Schaeffer's eyes widened. "That's exactly what Odd said?!"

"Well, I am his great great granddaughter….even if it's through adoption." Shadow said glumly.

"Still funny though," Schaeffer offered.

Shadow nodded and smile in response.

"Well, after they managed to subdue her, they were going to turn her in, but her daughter came running to her rescue and tried to fight them. Her crying out, 'don't hurt my mommy' shocked them to say the least, but when they tried to get away, Odd…pounced them, and after a few minutes, he managed to get them to talk. Finding out that she was stealing to support herself and her adopted daughter, the others pitched in to help out as best they could. They had enough to keep her daughter in…but not her. She attended a public school about a day's travel away, but she came by every weekend to check on her."

"What…what did she do?"

Schaeffer shook her head sadly.

"She never told us about her past, even Odd, and they were married!"

Shadow frowned. "If she wouldn't tell him, even after getting married, then it must have been pretty bad."

"I…always got the impression that she was ashamed of something from her past, something she was afraid of us knowing."

"But, if she married him, she must have trusted him? I mean, what about her daughter?"

Again, Schaeffer shook her head.

"What her real name was, whoever was her original family, and what happened the first seventeen years of her life, she took with her to the grave. But, we respected her all the same."

Schaeffer paused for a moment before continuing. "I think, I think when she found out that they were a member of the royal family, his life guard, and a legendary creature, she…well, felt ashamed of herself for being a commoner, and a street rat, who was still welcomed by them like she was…well, one of them."

Shadow thought it over, and guessed that it made sense. Even if they had accepted her into their group, and accepted her as one of their own, she would probably always have felt like she was lower than them. Especially if she had made a living as a criminal, to be accepted by nobles would have been…difficult.

"Where did she get that dagger from?" Shadow asked, pointing at the wall mounted weapon.

"We don't know. She had it the night we caught her, the only other clue we had was that according to Odd, she wore it sleeping, and even took it with her when she went to shower. I don't think it was ever more than five feet from her until after the day she died."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes until Shadow got up and stretched. "I think it's time I hit the hay, thank you Schaeffer, for everything."

For the third time that night, Shadow was caught off guard. This time, when she felt two slender arms wrap around her from behind and hold her tightly.

"Thank you, Shadow, for everything. I…needed someone to talk to. It's been so long since I had a chance to speak to anyone, and…tonight I had the chance to relive some of the good times in my life. Again, thank you."

Shadow could have sworn than she heard a crack in the older woman's voice, but knew that there was no reason to bring it up.

Several short hours passed before a loud banging sound was heard echoing throughout the tower.

"What on Atmos is that?" Rondana asked sitting up straight from her 'guest' bed.

Marina groaned, having a clue, but not awake enough yet to express anything other than contempt for being woke up at such an hour.

Piper, however, just continued sleeping.

"How does she do that?" Rondana asked, surprised by how the girl was able to sleep through what seemed to be a war being waged on their front lawn.

Shadow rose with a groan.

"Lot's of practice, that's how. She's been with the guys for like, five years now. I think she could sleep through Junko getting his teeth pulled if she wanted to." The young girl said before dropping back onto her bed.

_BANG_

_BANG_

_BANG_

Marina's eyes narrowed. "I swear, if that's Kai, I'm going to kill him in his sleep."

The four met Schaeffer on the way to the lift, who shot them a curious look.

"Friends." Was all Shadow said to answer the unasked question.

The pinkette nodded at the explanation, having little to nothing else to go on.

Reaching the ground floor, Schaeffer touched the wall pad which caused the 'door hole' to open again.

Sure enough, Kai fell through face first behind his thrown fist.

"I told you we didn't need to knock that loud," Tigger said giggling.

Kai huffed and pulled himself up before brushing off.

"Since you are the only male present, I assume that you are this 'Kai' the others have told me so…little about?" Schaeffer asked curiously.

Looking up, Kai was about to shoot a half sarcastic reply when he froze.

"She…really…is an elf?" Wincing, Kai reached into his belt and pulled a small bag of gold which he tossed to Tigger, who in turn caught it and quickly made it disappear among her many pockets.

Hearing a foot tapping impatiently, Kai turned back to the others.

"Yes, I am Kai, now, who might you be?" He asked as he looked the 'elf' over critically.

"Perhaps it would be best if you came inside? I believe it is far more comfortable in here, than out there."

Kai looked back to Tigger and Starling, silently asking what they thought. Tigger shrugged her shoulders in response, and Starling gave a slight nod, which Kai knew meant 'Ok, but be careful'.

Once the three entered and the shock of the towers enterer passed, Schaeffer lowered the lift to the 'lower' floor they had spent yesterday in. Kai flinched and nearly reached for his weapon, but Piper slapped his wrist away and gave him a knowing glare she learned from Starling.

'Down Simba'

Kai tried to relax, but was still uneasy. He didn't like walking into an unknown, which was all that this situation was to begin with.

"Well, I know your friends, and a little about them. But, I'm afraid they didn't tell me much about you three." Schaeffer said pointing at Kai, Starling and Tigger.

"Look, Miss….?" Kai paused waiting for the woman's name.

"Schaeffer."

"Schaeffer, I wish we had more time, but I'm afraid that ours has run out."

The others looked up at this point, slightly startled.

"What do you mean our time's run out?" Piper asked.

"Piper, last night, when we got the rattle trap going again," Tigger ignored Kai's glare. "We detected several Cyclonian destroyers heading this way. We need to…well…you know. Get to work."

"No! Kai you cant, not here! She has nowhere to go!" Shadow shouted, shocking everyone.

Kai shot Shadow an odd look, since Shadow hadn't even spoken to him in what seemed like weeks, while Schaeffer merely continued to watch as things played out.

"Shadow, if the Cyclonian's get a hold of this tower, there's no telling how much damage they could do. You knew what this mission was about the day we left Deep."

"But Kai, this is her home! You can't just make her leave!"

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" Schaeffer asked, having enough of being left out of the loop.

"I'm sorry miss, but, we don't have but a few hours until the Cyclonian's arrive. We have to destroy this tower, and anything that might give them an advantage in the war before they do so."

Schaeffer's reply was swift and sharp.

"No."

"Look, I'm not trying to force you to do anything, but lives are at stake. I know you were here first, and if I had my way, you would be left alone. I don't take a single ounce of pleasure or joy in evicting someone from their own home, believe me. But I will do what I have to in order for this mission to succeed, and if that means deporting you, then I will." Kai said with a steel edged voice.

The others watched in awe as the pinkette walked up to Kai and narrowed her gaze like a homing laser on him.

"You are not the boss of me. You have not the power, nor the authority to make me do anything."

Kai's eyes narrowed in return.

"Look, I wish we could help you, I really do, but we don't have the time, or the resources. Even if we did, it would be putting you at greater risk," Kai replied evenly.

Not seeing any change in the older woman's countenance, Kai continued.

"If we helped you stave off this attack, they'd just regroup, resupply, and come back in greater numbers. They would continue to do this until they finally got what they wanted, and you were tied to a dissection table in Larks palace. Likewise, if we went to the Council for help, after throwing me in the deepest darkest hole they have access to, they'd help hold off the Cyclonian's, while at the same time pillage this tower for everything that its worth, then abandon the terra, and you'd still end up on a dissection table. The only thing I can offer you is to help hide you among friends. I know a few people, and more than just a few places's where they would never find you."

Piper, along with the others listened with fascination as Kai went from his normal self, to politician and then to negotiation mode.

"_As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Either way, both sides would just strip this place down and leave it empty,"_ Piper thought sadly. Just a few weeks ago, she would have fought to get the Council involved, but after learning what they put Kai through, and, even worse, what they had tried to do to Starling and several others, she felt disgusted at just their mention anymore.

"I'm not powerless. I have survived on my own for quite a while apparently; I think I can hold my own."

"You might, but that's not a risk I'm willing to take. Even if you can hold off an army on you own, you can't hold out forever. One little slip up, one little mistake, and it would be all over."

"You are not destroying my home." Schaeffer replied dangerously.

"Look, you might have had clout in your time, but here, you just a nobody. I'm trying to help you, can't you see that!" Kai shouted having finally lost his last nerve to the woman.

"By blowing up my home and shipping me off to some corner in the wall where I can live in hiding!"

Kai's hand twitched and glowed with a faint black aura, an action not lost by the others present.

"What do you want us to do? Stay here and help protect you while our families and friends are, at best, enslaved?! We don't have time! I've got six more terra's to clean out AFTER this one. I've got one, dinky, piece of trash little freighter, and a handful of allies to work with. I'm trying to out run, and out maneuver not just one, but BOTH of Atmos's ruling powers so that we don't have another Darkest Day on our hands!" Kai fumed.

"So you're telling me to just give up? Let everything I've ever known be destroyed and to not even try? My friends never would have given up as quickly as you have. You are not only a pig headed brute in your methods, you are a coward by nature." Schaeffer hissed.

Kai's hand flew forward, black glow now pulsating, at the older woman.

Like pink lightning, her arm shot out with a soft warm glow.

"Schaeffer!" Shadow screamed out.

"Kai!" Piper and Starling shouted.

Kai was thrown back against the wall behind him as though Snipe had just hit him with his club.

The black glow around his hand that had for a brief moment solidified into a claw returned to a pulsating glow before fading out completely as Kai looked up, and for the first time, in a long time, felt a twinge of guilt mingled fear.

No further than an inch from his face was a glowing orb of pink energy, crackling with what sounded like a static charge.

"You've got power, I'll give you that kid. But I'm leagues beyond even your dreams."

"Kai! Don't do anything else stupid! You've only had four years of practice, she's had four thousand!" Piper shouted.

Staring at the glowing pink colored orb of death, Kai felt his face twitch. The last few days, combined with everything that had happened since finding the logbook was starting to take its toll on Kai.

With a snarl, he rolled to the side and brought up his other hand which he had discreetly charged with the last few ounces of energy he had access to without causing Starling any trouble.

Again, his attack was deflected and he was thrown onto his back.

"I can see that you're determined. I'll give you credit for that, but I think you've lost your way, little one," Schaeffer said as she lowered her left hand, which, like her right hand, now had a glowing ball of static energy.

"What would you suggest we do? Go back in time so we have more to come up with a plan? I'm doing what is in the best interest of the people!" Kai shouted.

"Actually, that's not such a bad idea," came a female voice echoing throughout the room, seemingly out of nowhere.

Only Piper noticed Starling flinch slightly, but everyone heard Kai's groan.

"You can't bother to show up when I need you, but now you can?" He asked sarcastically.

Piper looked around for the source of the voice, as were the others. She saw Kai, Schaeffer, Starling, Rondana, Tigger, Shadow, Marina and Starling, but nobody that she hadn't seen before.

"_Wait a minute! Two Starlings!"_ Piper's head snapped back so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash.

There, standing beside Marina was Starling, but, then standing beside Kai, was Starling, but, note quite.

Looking the newcomer over, she saw several minute differences between the two. The one standing beside Kai had slightly paler complexion, blue eyes, and most notably of all, a much darker shade of purple hair.

"Do you realize how much more difficult you just made things?" Kai asked exasperatedly.

"Not my fault you waited so long," she replied coolly.

"AH! Where did Starling's twin come from?!" Shadow shouted suddenly noticing there were two Starlings in the room instead of just one.

"She's not Starling's sister," Kai said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Rose, can't you use a different form? Just for now?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders before shifting her appearance. There was no flash, no sound, and no movement. She just, changed. One second she looked like a darker version of Starling, next she looked completely different.

Now, her hair was the same color, but much shorter, now in a twist knot, also, her eyes and skin were the same as before, but she looked like nobody they had ever seen before. Not strange or wired, just completely unfamiliar to anyone present.

"Better?" She asked with a rather annoyed tone of voice.

"Yes, though you're still going to cause me noting but trouble, you know that right?"

"Whose she?" Marina asked, face showing genuine confusion. The woman had appeared out of nowhere, yet Kai seemed to at least be acquainted with her, as did Starling she noticed.

"It's a long story, and no, we don't have time to tell it right now."

Seeing the looks everyone was giving him, Kai sighed.

"Look, I was going to tell you guys about her when we left the terra," Kai was interrupted by Tigger's scoff.

"Yeah right. You haven't told any of us jack, well, except tight lipped Piper over there," she gestured to the teen with her thumb, but was surprised to see the look on Piper's face.

It was a mix of astonishment and fear, along with just a touch of anger.

"Actually, he was," the woman replied before waving her hand towards Starling. "If you don't believe me, you can ask her, she was the one who convinced him to."

Everyone turned to Starling with huge question marks above their heads.

"Kai promised me that he would tell you after we left this terra. He might not always do what you want him to, and he can be a royal pain in the backside, but his word's solid. He hasn't broken a promise since the day I met him," she explained honestly, before adding.

"He's just very good at telling and doing what he wants to while still keeping his word."

"Rose? As in, _that_ Rose?" Piper asked taking a small step back unconsciously.

"Yes Piper, I am, _that_ Rose, but as Kai said, we have precious little time right now. The talons will be here in about five hours if Kai's instruments were working properly."

"Uh, excuse me, but how do you know this stuff? How did you know Piper's name? How did you know about the talons? AND WHO ARE YOU!?" She shouted.

"Look, Tigger, I know it sounds like something Kai would say, but believe me, it is very, very complicated." Starling said calmly. Though even a blind man could have seen the glare she was sending the other woman.

"I'll make it simple. She's part of me ok? Whatever I see, she see's, whatever I know, she knows, but the opposite is not true so don't even bother asking," Kai said with closed eyes before taking a few deep breaths.

"Excuse me, but, you said you had an idea?" Schaeffer asked.

"How can you be so calm?" Shadow asked the older woman, not only confused, but feeling a massive head ach approaching.

"Because, I'm actually used to this kind of thing. Believe me when I say that I've encountered far stranger things in my lifetime than a woman suddenly appearing out of nowhere," she explained shaking her head softly.

While they were talking. 'Rose' walked up to a terminal on the wall and began entering a sequence of keystrokes, alarming the others.

"Hey! What do you think your doing?!" Shadow shouted at the woman.

"I'm trying to see if this is what I think it is," she replied without turning to face the others.

"What do you mean; see if it's what you think it is? How do you even know what you're doing?" Rondana asked as she slowly approached the woman.

"I mean just what I said. I know this place, or rather, I know what it is. I've never actually been here myself, but I've been to a few that were similar in my time," she replied.

"Ok, hold the phone, Kai, who is she? How does she know about, about all this?" Tigger asked, confused, and now completely lost.

"Ok, fine. Here's the condensed version. She's Rose, otherwise known as the Black Burst Dragon, guardian of terra Ulara, and source of the Shadow crystal. Any more questions?" Kai asked with a groan.

"Dragon? She doesn't look like any dragon I've ever slaiiiiii seen," Marina said before breaking into a mysterious fit of coughs.

"Because I don't have to. This isn't my actual body. I can make it look however I please. Normally I use Starling's form since it's one that Kai knows, respects, and will listen too. This is the form of my first Scion, Senna."

"Scion? Isn't that a new skimmer model?" Shadow asked in confusion.

"Yes, but that's not the same. In this case, Scion means host, or vassal. Since she no longer has a body, she shares one with Kai. He gets access to her power in exchange, but only a small portion of it," Piper said as if reading it out of an encyclopedia.

"Host? You mean, she's a parasite?" Rondana asked, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

"Yes"

"No"

Kai and Rose both said at the same time.

"Funny, little one. I don't seem to recall gaining anything out of this. So pray tell, how am I a parasite? You accepted me willingly if memory serves," she replied, still not looking behind her.

Kai growled slightly, but said nothing.

"That's what I thought. You should be greatful, as many times as I've saved your hide, and everything that I've given you. You don't have a rock to stand on against me, and you know it. Without me, you would have died so many times over in the last four years that it's sad."

"ENOUGH! Just do whatever. I don't care," Kai shouted, holding up his hands in the universal 'I surrender' position.

"Schaeffer, are you aware of what this base was designed for?" Rose asked, finally turning around to face the others.

"Yes, it was a relay tower for the Phase Matter Transmat System. But what does that have to do with anything?" She asked with a puzzled expression.

Rose grinned. "How would you like to see your friends again?"

Schaeffer's eyes widened, before narrowing into a glare.

"If that's a threat, then you had better be better able to back it up than he was," Schaeffer said nodded towards Kai.

Rose laughed. "Oh, I am more than capable of backing it up, however it was not a threat to begin with. I'm serious, it is possible for us to, how do you say, have our cake, and eat it?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand. What are you talking about? Time travel is impossible, that was proved long ago," Schaeffer said approaching the woman.

"From within time, yes, it is impossible to affect the time stream. However, I believe Marina knows that there are ways around this little problem, am I correct?"

Everyone turned to Marina, who gaped at the older woman.

"How could you possible know about?"

Rose chuckled. "I was there when they were made, so I know full well about Hylian sacred treasures, _all_ of them."

"Within the time stream? So what you're suggesting is to somehow go outside the time stream?" Piper asked with a thinking expression.

Rose smiled. "You were correct in your assessment of her Kai; she is as bright as she is cute."

Kai merely groaned as Piper's cheeks flashed a light pink color for a brief second, before changing back.

"But how can you go outside the time stream? Time is everywhere?" Piper asked, trying to get back to the subject at hand.

Rondana and Tigger both looked up at the same time with matching looks of disbelief.

"Oblivion."

"What?" Kai asked turning to face them.

"Oblivion! Time doesn't exist in Oblivion, that's how, _she_ was able to survive there for so long without aging a year," Rondana said bitterly. Though she had come to accept what had happened, she still felt a twinge of bitterness every now and then.

"Wait a minute, your suggesting that we somehow use Oblivion as a medium to send Schaeffer to the past with the Transmat System aren't you?" Tigger asked, having suddenly figured out what Rose was suggesting.

"That is correct. If we can create a tear between the two dimensions, we should be able to tear through the other side wherever, or, whenever we wish." Rose said with a small smile.

"That…makes sense actually. But how do you propose doing this? I've never heard of this, Oblivion you speak of. Also, the Transmat system has been down for years. It's a good theory, but I don't see how we could put it to practice," Schaeffer said shaking her head.

"Hey! I can fix anything! With all that Ancient junk Kai's dumped on me since I met him, I'm pretty much an expert with the stuff, so don't worry about that. Just show me where and I'll handle the rest." Tigger said cracking her knuckles with a grin.

"But we still don't have a way of getting her to Oblivion. That would require an Oblivion stone, and I don't think any of us have one of those on hand," Piper said sadly.

"That's not a problem. Just find me a crystal and I'll make it into one. I can't promise that it'll last for very long, but I should be able to pull it off." Kai said pushing off the wall he was leaning against.

"Uh, Kai, aren't you forgetting something?" Piper said with a raised eyebrow.

Seeing Kai's blank expression, she continued. "You use those powers of yours and this terra goes into the upper stratosphere."

"I said I didn't know how long I could do it, not that I couldn't. I know my limitations," Kai said, ignoring Rondana's scoff.

"This coming from the guy that's been bit by every species of snake on Atmos," she muttered.

"Hey, you weren't there during any of those times. Snake bites were the least of my worries," Kai fired back.

"Enough! Look, we have…we have a plan. Rose, what would you say our chances of success are?" Starling asked as she rubbed her temples in thought.

"One in fifty, and that's if luck is on our side," she replied quickly.

Everyone shrugged.

"That's about normal for me," Piper said.

"That's actually higher than what I'm used to," Kai said scratching the back of his head.

"Well then, let's get to work," Marina said with a sigh.

The group went their separate ways, after Schaeffer showed them how to use the lift that is. Tigger was taken to the transportation pad and shown what was broken and needed fixing, while Rose went to the top of the tower and began what she called 'reprogramming the system', whatever that meant.

The others were a different story. Starling, since she had yet to fully recuperate took the helm of Kai's freighter and kept it on standby. When the enemy arrived, Tigger and Rondana would go with her and man the turrets, while Marina, Kai and Piper would launch in their skimmers with Schaeffer to hold off the enemies as long as possible. Rose, since she was the only one aside from Schaeffer that could operate the systems, and lacked an actual body needed to remain close to the Shadow crystal, which was placed on the control floor. They each knew what they had to do, and were ready to do them, all but the last one.

"What do you mean I'm staying behind?!" Shadow shouted incredulously.

"I mean just what I said Shadow. You've been off since we landed on this terra, and we can't afford anything going wrong here. Besides, look at it this way, you've actually got the most important job out of all of us, you're the last line of defense," Marina said trying to calm the clearly crossed teen girl down.

"I can fight! Why won't you guys trust me? I'm older than Tigger for Oracles' sake!"

"But you've never manned a gun turret before. Please, Shadow, you have to understand," before Marina could continue, Kai stepped in.

"Look, Shadow, I know this really is not what you want to do, and you want us to trust you, but if you want us to trust you with more to do in the future, you have to prove that you _will_ do what is asked now. Besides, Marina was right, you are our last line of defense. The way my powers are right now, I won't be able to move while I'm restructuring the crystal, or while holding it in that state. You are the only thing that I will have to protect me should a talon get inside here during the transfer. It might not be worth much, but I'm putting my life in your hands," Kai said in a rare moment of serious honesty.

Shadow narrowed her eyes, but upon remembering her promise both to herself, and Kai, nodded her head accepting her part in the operation.

"Kai, may I have a word with you?"

Kai jumped slightly at hearing Schaeffer call his name. After patting Shadow on the shoulder and offering a small smile, he went over to the living Ancient, unsure why she wished to speak with him.

Schaeffer was pacing from one end of the room to the other biting her thumb nail as she did so. So many thoughts were flying through her mind, how much she had missed her friends, what she would do when she saw them again and so much more, but at the moment, she had more important matters to attend to.

"You rang?" Kai asked as he leaned against the wall with crossed arms.

"Yes, Rose has told me of your…situation, and I wish to help you."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "I don't really see how you can help. You're not going to be here much longer, and I don't think you can repair my crystal in the little time we have before things get hectic."

Schaeffer bit her lip before speaking. "I can transfer some of my power to you, it won't be much, but we'll need all the edge we can get. I won't do it against your wishes, but I think you should consider it at the very least."

Though his eyes didn't show it, on the inside Kai was shocked.

"Uh, well, I guess, if you think it would help. What did Rose say?" Kai asked, still unsure if it was a good idea.

"She said that it wouldn't hurt to try. Our powers are very similar, so hopefully we can use mine to stabilize yours."

Holding out his hands, Kai grinned. "Hook me up then, just don't make my skin yellow or turn me into a skyfish and I don't have a problem."

Schaeffer nodded, before swallowing nervously. It had been several thousand years since she did anything like this after all.

Reaching out with her hands, she placed them on either side of his face, about an inch away from coming into skin contact.

"Close your eyes, and try to visualize your energy field, I need to see what I'm working with if this is going to work," she ordered calmly.

The others, having finished setting the charges had returned just in time to see what was happening. At first, the obvious thoughts ran through their minds, resulting in several eye rolls and one mysterious growl.

That lasted for about five seconds.

Taking a deep breath, Kai exhaled slowly before taking another deep breath, and again exhaling. After the third breath, they saw a flicker, like a candle light about to snuff out. Two, three, four times the flicker went before taking form.

Piper leaned one ear to the side, thinking that she heard something, something she had heard twice since this little journey had begun.

A woman singing.

Sure enough, she could hear it, but the voice was weak, as if from a far distance.

"Do you guys hear that?" Piper asked, now knowing that something was indeed up, and she was not crazy.

"_Yeah, it's that song from the arena, and the Phoenix Den,"_ New Piper said in an interested tone.

"Not you!" Piper hissed.

"Not you who? I was just saying that I didn't hear anything," Rondana replied worriedly.

"_I'm not crazy, and SHUT UP YOU!"_ Piper yelled mentally.

"No, seriously, I think I hear something, it sounds like a woman singing, but, I can't make out the words," Piper said frustrated.

The flicker then solidified into a black and purple mist like cloud around Kai that pulsated with a _rub dub_ sound.

"What is that?" Shadow asked having never seen anything like it before.

"It sounds like,…it sounds like a heartbeat," Rondana said with narrowed eyes.

A few seconds passed before Schaeffer closed her eyes and moved her forehead closer to Kai's.

The others watched as she took several deep breaths before flickering just the same as Kai had several seconds earlier. Only instead of a slow flickering that lasted several seconds, hers only flickered twice before forming into a pink mist like cloud that enveloped her.

At this time Shadow leaned to one side, hearing the same song as from back at the tomb the day before.

"_It's her, the song is coming from her, but….why cant the others hear it?"_

Like Kai's, hers pulsated at what one could describe as a heart rhythm.

Seconds later, the two energy fields began to move around their respective owners like a swarm of ants. Not leaving their skin, but at the same time moving visibly around them, almost like a living creature. Kai's forming into two ridged wings and a sharp tail, Schaeffer's only extending two soft wings.

The others watched as Schaeffer moved slightly closer, so that she and Kai were only separated by a few inches.

"Your energy is very unstable, so I'm assuming it's not natural, correct?" Schaeffer asked squinting her already closed eyes in concentration.

"I wasn't born with it, no," Kai said trying to maintain focus.

Marina elbowed Starling and shot her a small grin.

"Five gold says he tries something,"

Starling snorted before shifting her eyes back to the scene before them with a slight frown.

For several seconds, nothing seemed to happen, but then they saw part of the pink field extend to the black field, trying to match its beating rhythm. After several more seconds, the pink field formed into something like a circular saw blade, but with its teeth pointed inward, while at the same time Kai's formed into teeth pointing outward. The two connected, and the pink field gradually eased itself into the black field before both disappeared completely.

Both Schaeffer stumbled slightly backwards before catching each other to keep the other from falling.

"I'm sorry, but that was all I could do. If I had more time, I would have been able to do more for you, but your field is so chaotic it would take weeks to fully repair it temporarily."

Kai nodded, having guessed that would be the case before they even stared. "Thanks for trying," he said before hearing someone clear their throat.

"Hm, oh! Hey guys, everything ready?"

"Yes Romeo, we got everything set. It will take two hours for the gate to fully charge, and the talons will be here in an hour and a half. We just need to hold them for thirty minutes. As long as they don't have more than a handful of aces, we should be fine," Tigger said ignoring the look Kai shot her.

"Alright then, lets sattle up." Kai said grinning.

"Wait a second, how's Schaeffer going to help us? She can't fly a skimmer," Piper pointed out with a frown.

Schaeffer had a small smile on her face as she stepped forward. "Oh don't worry about me. I have my own set of wings."

The others, knowing that they wouldn't get anything else out of her went back to checking everything one last time before the operation commenced. Rose pulled Kai aside for a moment, but aside from that nothing else happened.

"Uh, guys, there here!" Piper shouted from the doorway with her binoculars.

"Let's have a look shall we?" Kai said taking them from her and looking out to the horizon.

"How bad is it?" Schaeffer asked, sensing something wrong from the youth.

Kai handed the binoculars back to Piper before turning to face the others.

"Guys, if we don't make it through this, I just want you to know, it's all Arygyn's falut."

Everyone's eyes widened.

From the bridge of the lead ship, Nagera peered through his own binoculars and frowned.

"Look like the place has a rat problem. All hands, battle stations!"

Alarm klaxons sounded throughout the battle group as talons manned the eight Cyclonian destroyer's gun turrets. At the same time, fifteen men from each boarded their skimmers and prepared to launch.

"Looks like this baby setting job just got me a bonus," Nagera said with a grin as he made his way below to his own skimmer.

End chapter 14

AN: Ok, so you know what to expect next chapter right? BIG BATTLE TIME! I'm serious; this battle is going to be HUGE! Epic sized! And now, for a commercial!

See! Starling, Tigger and Rondana take on a fleet of Cyclonian destroyers!

"Great shot Tigger, but don't get cocky!" Starling shouted over the intercom.

"Hey! Not my fault your stuck flying while we get to have all the fun! Yeeeha!"

See! Marina and Piper battle a swarm of Talons!

"Not bad kid, but I'm still three ahead!" Marina shouted with a laugh.

"Three ahead huh? I think your old age is starting to mess with your head," Piper shouted as she pointed behind them, specifically at the rear firing blasters on Kai's skimmer, and the mayhem it was causing the battle field.

See Kai and Schaeffer's power unleashed!

"Let's see what you got princess," Kai said with a grin holding out his hand.

Schaeffer shook her head softly as she pulled him up by the hand before entwining their arms together.

"Try to keep up dragon boy," Schaeffer said grinning as her wings spread out once again, and she reactivated her energy field. Light red and black merged into a single reddish purple hued sphere that engulfed the tower.

Next time, on Chapter 15,

The Shadow's Requiem! Rebirth of the Fifth Warrior!

"**Now it's my turn Nagera!"** The hollow voice called out from above.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	15. The Shadow’s Requiem!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 15: The Shadow's Requiem! Rebirth of the Fifth Warrior!

AN: I know this chapter is waayyyy overdue, but things have been busy, and fight scenes take time for me to write out. This chapter turned out bigger in some ways than I originally planned, but smaller in others. It still has some major battles, but the big one got pushed back to next chapter. This book is going to be a bit bigger than the first one, probably around 30 chapters, possibly 40 depending on my muse. I will say this right now though. Both this chapter and the next one will be a little on the dark side, and will be a rollercoaster. Those who have read my work before know what this term entails.

Enjoy!

Also don't forget check out Arashi21's new story: Fighting Wings! Which ties in with the Winds of Change serie, but is told through the eyes of Kestrel!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda, or Code Lyoko. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment, Nintendo and Moonscape, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

"Alright, you know what to do, don't get shot down, and don't do anything I would!" Kai shouted before running out to his skimmer.

"Hey wait up!" Piper shouted as both she and Marina chased after the groups sole male member.

"Guess that's our cue huh Starling?" Tigger asked nervously.

"Don't worry Tigger, I'll be flying, you and Rondana just focus on thinning out their numbers. Piper, Marina, and Kai will do the rest."

"But doesn't that mean we have to take out the destroyers?" Rondana asked with a frown.

"Yeah, but we should be fine. Their just Cyclonian's, so they shouldn't be that much trouble right Starling?"

Starling chuckled. "I believe you are correct Tigger. Come on, we need to get to the ship before they get too close."

As Tigger, Rondana and Starling boarded the freighter, they watched in awe as the desert ground split open, and a large ramp rose from an underground chamber facing the oncoming enemy battle group.

"That's the signal, time to head out. You girls ready?" Starling asked over the intercom.

"Everything's fine here, I just hope this thing still works," Rondana replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Of course it'll work! I fixed it myself!" Tigger shouted feigning offense before pouting slightly.

"Cool it you two, save your fire for them," Starling chided.

"Now that's awesome," Kai said with a large smile as he watched the ramp rise, section by section.

"Well, it just made sense at the time. Keeping it underground means it won't get damaged by the elements. That, and it's an easy way to get rid of people on your front lawn if you don't want to deal with them in person," Schaeffer said with a small knowing smile.

"By the way, just how do you plan on helping us? For you to have something like this, I'm guessing that you have some sort of flight vehicle too," Piper asked curiously.

Schaeffer nodded as she held up what looked like a purple surfboard. "Got it right here."

Everyone raised an eyebrow, which Schaeffer ignored. "Just try and keep up ok?" She said before throwing the surfboard forward and jumping onto it.

Kai, Piper and Marina watched as it suddenly came to life and sped down the ramp faster than most skimmers.

"Oh it is on girl, no way your dusting me!" Kai shouted as he slammed forward to full speed.

Marina and Piper looked at each other before revving and taking after the two.

"Great, they get to go and have fun while I'm stuck here rock sitting," Shadow said with an aggravated sigh.

"You know, I _can_ hear you Shadow," Rose said crossing her arms.

"AHH! Don't do that!" The young teen shouted with a start.

"Remember, you have to succeed should they fail, do not take this responsibility lightly."

"Yeah yeah, I know, everyone's counting on me," Shadow said sarcastically. "Like those bunch are going to fail. Unless they've got a bunch of aces with them, this is going to be like watching a Disney movie, just without all the sappy romance and destiny tripe."

Had she paid a bit more attention, Shadow would have noticed the slight grin on Rose's face.

"_Sappy, maybe not, but I hope destiny fails this time. I grow tired of this game."_ Rose thought before frowning slightly.

"Alright, looks like the others are airborne. Now remember, we're going for volume, not accuracy this first round ok? Just put as much flack up as you can," Starling ordered.

"Flack?" Rondana with a confused frown.

"It means just shoot at them as much as you can!" Tigger shouted before bringing her twin turret to life and lighting the sky with crystal fire.

"Oh, why didn't you just say that?" Rondana replied, not able to hear Starling groan or see her shake her head.

"Remember, there are fifteen skimmers per destroyer. We need to thin them out as much as possible the first time through, after that we can only focus on the destroyers," Starling called out.

"What? Why? We can help the others if you turn around," Rondana asked.

"Because we won't be able to tell which ones are friendly and which ones are not. We've only got four allies up here, and we can't afford to risk friendly fire," Tigger replied as she continued to fire a stream of crystal fire into the cloudless sky.

"Grrrrr! Hold still so I can blast you already!" Rondana shouted as the skimmers split up to dodge her attacks.

"They're not going to make it easy for us Rondanaaaaa! Watch it Starling! How about a warning next time!" Tigger shouted from suddenly being lurched to the side.

"Sorry, but we're in range of the destroyers now, so you'll have to stay on your toes. I'll try to keep the ship steady, but I can't make any promises. It's been awhile since I flew anything this big into a hornets' nest," the older woman replied before making another sudden shift to dodge a round of crystal cannon fire.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Tigger replied clutching her stomach.

"You barff, you're clean it up," Kai's voice called out over the intercom.

"Wait a minute, you can hear us?" Starling asked with a raised eyebrow.

_Static_

"Kinda, all my equipment is tied in through a central network channel. I can patch any of my skimmers or ships in from any of my other ones, including my base. It makes them easier to track if someone tries to boost one of my toys," Kai replied matter of factly.

"So that means that the others can't hear us?" Tigger asked.

"I can! I'm guessing if Shadow was up here she would be able to too since she's using one of his skimmers," Piper replied with her usual cheerful tone.

"Ok, well heads up guys, we weren't able to put a scratch on them, looks like these guys at least passed flight school, so be careful," Starling warned.

"Yes mother," Kai and Piper replied sarcastically.

"Ok, so fifteen per destroyer, that makes a hundred and twenty total, so that's thirty each. Think you guys are up for it?" Kai asked smirking.

"More than you!" Piper shouted before blowing a raspberry.

"Let's go bag the season's quota on talons!" Marina shouted with a grin.

"Just thirty each? I'll try to leave so for the rest of you," Schaeffer said with a wink.

"Tigger, destroyer coming up at three o clock charley, aim for the engines, they're the only thing not protected by shielding," Starling shouted as she dodged another burst of cannon fire.

"On it!" Tigger replied as she swung her turret around and upward.

"Eh, weas hunten wabbets's, hewr buny buny buny," Tigger said closing one eye and squinting her other through the targeting lenses.

"Take the shot Tigger! Now!"

"Not yet Starling, I neeeeed….there!" Tigger shouted before firing a single shot which hit, and knocked off the top right engine from one of the Cyclonian destroyers, causing it to fall at an angle into the desert floor below.

"HA! That's how we do things in Aladates!"

"Great shot Tigger, but don't get cocky!" Starling shouted over the intercom.

"Hey, not my fault your stuck flying while we get to have all the fun! Yeeeha!"

Starling ignored the barb as best she could, but still found herself frowning slightly. _"I wish I could do more, it's been too long since I flew anything like this into battle. I'd be of more use on a skimmer, heck, I'd be better off in a turret,"_ Starling thought before pulling the ship up to dodge the falling destroyers last barrage of fire.

_Static_

"Look out! Incoming!" Kai's voice shouted over the intercom.

"What? Whe?" Starling froze as she saw the chain of blast's coming in the corner of her vision.

"_There's no time to dodge that! Blast, this is what I get for not staying focused, I just hope the ship can take it,"_ Starling thought with a cringe.

"Ahh! It's going to hit!" Rondana shouted, seeing the blast coming nearing and nearer towards her turret.

_**Static crackle**_

"Are you ok?"

Starling and Rondana looked up from their stations to where the crystal blasts were coming from.

They expected to see more blasts coming, which they did.

They expected to see them hit, and they did.

They hit, a large red and pink wing that had covered half of the freighter.

A wing that was connected to the back of a lone figure, standing atop a flying surfboard.

"It's Schaeffer! She's blocked it!" Tigger shouted in disbelief.

Schaeffer gave a curt salute before turning around and heading back into the fray.

"Thanks Schaeffer," Kai said letting out the breath he had been holding.

"No problem, I just hope they don't make a habit of it," Schaeffer replied as she charged two energy orbs, one in each hand. "Try to keep up!"

Using the two energy orbs, Schaeffer deflected several rounds of skimmer fire back at the talons that had fired at her. Each of which hit either their wings or engines, effectively knocking them out of the sky.

"Not bad, but, I give you a seven out of ten," Kai said before jumping out of his seat to stand on the wings of his skimmer, and deflect a series of blaster rounds meant for him back at a nearby destroyer. Though it didn't do much damage, it looked impressive, to Kai at least.

"No wonder you set the limit to thirty," Schaeffer teased as she brought the two orbs in her hands together into a single large orb, which then 'fired' out of her hands and hit the same Cyclonian destroyer.

Going through the shields.

And exiting through the other side of the ship.

Kai's eyes bugged out, which caused Schaeffer to giggle. "Aw, I promised to leave some for you remember? So don't get too down on yourself.

With narrowed eyes, Kai sent Schaeffer a look that was known to all who had seen it.

'It's on!'

Slamming the throttle to full, Kai went after the damaged destroyer before suddenly pulling up and cork screwing to dodge the cannon and anti aircraft fire.

"_Alright baby, let's show them what we can really do!"_ Kai thought as his small grin spread into a predatory one matching Repton's.

Seconds later, the skimmer stalled out, and nosedived.

Schaeffer rolled her eyes.

"_Show off, he's going to get himself killed one of these days. Though I guess I am partially to blame this time."_

When he was several hundred feet above the destroyer Kai pushed forward and out with the control yoke, folding the skimmer's wings back like it was going to transform into land mode, but without deploying the wheels.

Now only seconds from the Cyclonian destroyer, Kai focused a small portion of his power into a shield as he had when fighting Naboroou. But instead of a pair of wings, he formed a large dragons head around the front of his skimmer.

The head pierced the shields and continued through the ships armor plating, all ten decks, and out the bottom.

Pulling the control yokes back to their normal position, Kai redeployed the wings just as he passed through the bottom of the ship.

"Top that!" Kai shouted before immediately being forced to duck and weave the wounded, but still flight worthy destroyers cannon fire.

"I think I'll leave that to you, come on, Piper and Marina need out help with the other talons. We don't have the firepower to take on capital ships."

Kai shot Schaeffer a look, which cause her to groan and roll her eyes.

"Ok, se we 'do' have the firepower, but they still need our help, come on!"

Kai grunted as he looked back at the wounded destroyer.

"_She's right. We could take them down, but in the time it would take to do that, Marina and Piper would be overrun. Dang, just when things were getting fun too."_

"Where does Lark get all these guys?! Henchmen's R Us?!" Marina shouted as she took down another enemy skimmer with a burst of crystal fire.

"I doubt it; she must be buying in bulk, so it's probably Floor Mart, discount price if you buy by the dozen ya know?" Piper joked as she froze a nearby switchblade's engine causing it to drop like a stone.

"GRRRAAAA! Every time I shoot one down five more pop up! It's like trying to fight off a horde of cockroaches in a kitchen!" Marina shouted in anger.

Piper chuckled. "Well then, we'll just have to handle them the same way right? Step on them!" Piper shouted as she swung her staff out like a baseball bat and close lined a talon that had tried to play her in a game of chicken clear off his skimmer.

"Quick, Radarr!"

The sky monkey nodded and jumped out of his sidecar onto the now pilotless switchblade.

"Now we've got five on our side."

"Yeah, against their freaking armada!" Marina shot back as she held her hand out towards the 'cloud' of enemy skimmers.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Marina and Piper both shivered as they watched five talon switchblades suddenly drop from the sky with smoke trailing behind them, Kai following not too far behind cackling wildly.

"He's so into this it's scary," Marina said blankly.

"It's the dragon's blood. Trust me, as long as you don't make him think you're the enemy you'll be alright. If you tag him though, you're on your own," Piper warned.

Marina shuddered before turning her attention to a lone skimmer that was breaking away from the others and heading for the tower.

"A wise guy eh? Not for long he's not," Marina said grinning before giving chase, only to be cut off by a squadron from above.

"_That one must be the leader, their covering for him so he can get to the tower. Blast, I can't get through them, and the others are spread all over the place. I hope Shadow can deal with whoever it is."_

Nagera frowned as he looked back over his shoulder. The enemy skimmers were all mismatched and none were flying insignia's or squadron colors. Added to that, all the pilots were wearing identical black flight suites, (well, all but the one with the flying surfboard) he amended.

"_Who are these guys? I don't remember anything about a sky squadron that flew with no marks. Are they the Sky Council's Special Forces or something? They aren't flying in formation, and I haven't seen anyone of them use a signature move…of course! They must be the Councils elite squadron. It's no wonder Moss got his tailbone kicked up his spine like that. But if none of them have used a signature move yet, it must be because the Sky Knight is on the transport, or is on the ground defending the tower. I doubt they have more than eight members, and their leader would be the strongest, so he'd be protecting the target. It's time for me to get some answers,"_ Nagera thought as he pulled free his twin crystal blade sword from its sheath, and brought it to life.

"We have to punch through their shields! Concentrate your fire!" Starling shouted.

"We're doing our best! You keep jumping around and flying like this things a rollercoaster! If you want us to give you better results, you have to give us better shot's to take!" Tigger fired back.

Starling bit back her tongue, knowing that the younger girl was right this time. The fault lied with her. She was used to flying skimmers, not larger craft.

"I can't believe Kai would have built a craft that would require three people to operate. He must have some form of countermeasures or something," Starling growled tightening her grip on the control sticks.

A sudden cannon blast caught her off guard and forced her pull up and back on the controls.

"Primary Flight Mode Engaged"

Starling raised an eyebrow before letting out a surprised 'eak' when the seat she was sitting in suddenly flipped upside down. Before she could fall off the seat however she felt a set of restraints wrap around her wrists, under her shoulders, around her thighs and around her ankles.

For a brief second she couldn't see anything but blackness, but a set of lights suddenly came to life.

What Starling saw made her scream.

"Who puts a reversing ejector seat on a ship!"

Starling closed her eyes but after a few seconds of nothing happening, opened them again, and noticed that something was amiss.

Looking around she saw the sky and enemy fighters, and below her was the ground. But she couldn't feel the air rushing past her face, nor did she feel the heat from the sun shining above. Looking at her arms, she noticed the restraints.

"_What on Atmos?"_

Her senses returning to her, she also felt the ones under her arms, and the ones on her legs.

"What the devil is this?" Starling shouted before trying to free herself by tugging her left leg and arm free.

She felt a sudden shift and noticed that she was now looking up and pitching to the left.

"Ahh! Starling! What are you doing up there!" Rondana's voice called out from seemingly nowhere.

"_Where did that come from? It sounded like Rondana, but…what is going on here?"_

Giving her right arm an experimental tug, she felt her body shift to the right.

"_I don't believe this! This is some sort of flight control system; it must use the person's body movements to control the ship!"_

Moving her body against each of the harness straps, she quickly figured out how it worked, and only at the cost of some minor complaining (read as multiple death threats and curses) from Tigger and Rondana. Apparently, the wrists controlled the ships maneuvering thrusters, allowing her to break or pitch by moving them. Her shoulders controlled the flaps allowing her to alter the ships altitude with a single shift, or even barrel roll just by rotating her shoulders. The straps around her left and right thighs were the throttles for the port and starboard engines respectively, so she could accelerate by pushing her hips out, or slow down by pushing back up. The only tricky part was the ankles, which controlled the rudders, and thereby the steering. It took her a couple of tries to get the movements down, but as soon as she did, she felt a large grin spread across her face.

"_Kai must have covered the ship with modified messenger crystals, which transmit the images they see to viewing crystals that line this cockpits wall, giving the pilot an unobstructed three hundred and sixty degree by three hundred and sixty degree view, Kai you're a genus!"_

Now, feeling much more in control of the situation, Starling looked around and spied the closest destroyer and made the necessary movements to reach it.

"_It's strange, but, the way this is designed almost seems organic. Like how a bird or insect would fly."_

Rolling her shoulder blades back and trusting out her left arm and right hip, Starling executed a half roll and put the ship into a steep angled climb.

"_No, not a bird, nor an insect. This is how a dragon would fly,"_ Starling thought. "When I dive, both of you aim for its engines alright," Starling shouted.

"What are you talking about? What ship, I don't see one?" Tigger called back.

"It'll be coming up and twelve o'clock. I'm going to put you up right behind it alright?"

"Uh, Starling, are you sure that's a good idea? That kind of maneuver's a bit risky," Rondana replied with a gulp.

"Trust me, I've got this. Just make sure that you don't miss alright?"

Going into a small dive, Starling brought the ship back up and turned sharply so that the back end of the destroyer was now directly in front of them.

"Fire!" Starling yelled out over the com system.

Rondana and Tigger both looked up to see the back end of a Cyclonian destroyer only a few meters from them.

"You take the left!" Tigger started.

"You get the right!" Rondana shouted back.

The two girls opened fire, picking off the engines one at a time until they had knocked off all six. They watched as the falling ship continued to fire at them and were surprised when the ship suddenly darted to the right before pitching to the left to dodge the incoming fire, rather than lurch to the side.

_Whistles_ "Not bad Starling, where'd you learn to fly like that?" Tigger asked curiously.

Starling shook her head chuckling. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Tigger and Rondana both raised an eyebrow at this before letting it drop and chalking it up to what the group was now calling 'Messa Madness' a condition that they used to explain anything Kai or Starling did that nobody could understand, or was just plain weird.

Marina gauged the talons around her carefully. There were six in total, and as far as she could tell they were all squaddie grade material.

"_Like half decent take out I guess. Still not a match for me. I'm getting tired of fly through and takeout though, I want a lobster dinner!"_ Marina sighed as her stomach grumbled. Trying to fight on an empty stomach was never fun for her. For some reason she always found herself making food analogies, as was the case here.

Pulling her twin scimitars free from their holsters, Marina put them in a reverse hold so the blades were pointing down before hopping up on her seat.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Marina shouted as she jumped from her skimmer onto the closest enemy switchblade.

The young male pilot looked up at her first in shock, then in alarm.

"AHH! Get off!" He shouted before reaching for his holstered weapon.

Marina flashed a grin as she watched the terrified pilot before deciding to have some 'fun'.

"Hi sweetie, I'll be your flight attendant today. In the definite event of a crash landing, please remember where your emergency parachute is located," she said before bringing her blades down together and out, cutting the entire front portion of the switchblade off. Grinning, Marina did a back flip jump from the now diving skimmer and landed on another one.

"If you're unable to find your emergency chute, please follow these three simple guidelines," she continued before bringing her blades up and severing the wings from the skimmer. After winking, Marina jumped from the doomed skimmer and landed on the wing of the next one that had flown directly under the previous one.

"First, crouch as low as you can." Slicing the two left wings from their hinges, she hopped onto the next one, landing directly behind its pilot.

"Second, bend over as far as possible," she said slicing the fuselage in half and dropping back off the falling half of the skimmer.

Feeling the air rushing across her face and her copper red hair dancing wildly in the wind, Marina's grin widened as she saw the last two skimmers come towards her from different directions, but neither pilot seeing her.

"And kiss your sorry can goodbye!" Marina shouted driving her blades into the wings of the first skimmer, slicing clean through, and continuing her freefall.

Twisting her body in mid air, she looked up to admire her handy work. The skimmer that she had sliced the wings off of twirled several times before crashing into the last one, creating a giant red fireball.

"Sayonara from Gerudo," Marina said giving a mock salute as she deployed the glider she 'borrowed' from Kai several days ago and soared back to her skimmer.

"_I haven't had this much fun in ages. I should try to join the patrols more often when I get back,"_ Marina though before hearing a familiar roaring engine pull alongside her.

"Hey Marina, how many you got?" Piper asked pulling up alongside her.

Remembering the earlier jabs at her age, Marina decided to have some fun.

"Oh please, age before beauty," she said smugly.

"Then shouldn't you go first?" Piper teased before calling out. "I've got eight so far."

"Not bad kid, but I'm still three ahead!" Marina shouted with a laugh.

"Three ahead huh? I think your old age is starting to mess with your head," Piper shouted as she pointed behind them, specifically at the rear firing blasters on Kai's skimmer, and the mayhem it was causing the battle field.

Now, Marina had been called many things in her life, most of which were from Zelda, but spoiled and whiney were never among them.

That changed when Marina saw Piper take down three skimmers that had been trailing her without even turning to face them.

Marina pouted. "No fair. You cheated!"

Piper laughed before shaking her head. "Not my fault your mechanics don't try to copy what they see on TV."

"But Kai's not your mechanic, and that's not even your skimmer! You fly a heliscooter!" Marina shouted back.

Piper frowned.

"Flew a heliscooter. I'm going to see if Kai will loan or sell me one of his. He's got like, ten, so I doubt he would miss one."

Marina watched as an odd twinkle flashed across the younger girls face. It was there, and then gone in the blink of an eye, but Marina saw it.

"Especially if the price is right," Piper added with a mischievous grin and winking before pulling off to attack another squadron.

"_What in Naru's graces was that? For a second there I could have sworn that I was looking a younger version of Nabaroou,"_ Marina thought before shaking her head to clear the thought, nay nightmare of a second Nabaroou walking the surface of Atmos.

Grinning madly, Kai brought his skimmer around for another pass. For the first time in what seemed weeks, he was actually having fun. Sure, taking down scores of talons was something that even a first year squaddie could do, but it was still fun.

A stray blast skirted across his path, not hitting him or his skimmer, but it did get his attention.

Following the path of the blast to its source, he smiled at his good fortune.

"Heliblades? Oh, this is going to be good."

Pulling his tri-staff free Kai charged the squadron of heliblades at top speed, and with a single arc shaped wave of energy severed the primary rotor from the front three.

"_Man, I must be getting rusty, I used to be better then this,"_ Kai thought as he brought his skimmer around for another pass.

"You don't mind if I cut in do you?"

Several blats of blue energy struck the remaining heliblades, which were quickly followed by ice spreading out and over the hit areas.

"Piper! Get your own dance partner!" Kai shouted before ducking a flurry of blasts.

"Hey! Watch it you….oh bugger," Kai's face twisted as he shoved the controls roughly to the side and barrel rolled to avoid getting shot full of holes.

Apparently, these talon's were not the stock generic brand, but were actually half decent fighter pilots when alone.

In groups of ten or more however, they were actually a threat.

"Where did Lark find smart Talons!?" Kai shouted as he ducked and rolled to avoid getting hit.

"I don't know! I thought they were just a myth!" Piper shouted back as she too was forced to dodge a hail of crystal fire.

"This is bad, we still haven't even put a dent in their numbers, they just keep coming and coming!" Kai shouted as he blasted a lone Talon that flew in front of him.

"Well I'm open to suggestions!"

"Suggestions? Ok, here's one for you, DON'T GET SHOT!" Kai yelled as he pulled his skimmer up into a steep climb.

Half the skimmers followed him, while the other half continued chasing Piper.

"Kai! You rat, get back here!"

Checking behind her, Piper saw that the Talon's were keeping a certain measure of distance between them, and that none of them were directly behind her.

"_Looks like they figured out about the backfire cannons. I still cant believe Kai would just abandon me like that, here I thought he was ,"_

"_Maybe he still is?"_

Piper groaned.

"_Not you again, cant you see that I'm a little busy!"_

New Piper snickered. _"Yes, but it's the only time you ever listen to me. Now, back to Kai, I don't think he abandoned you."_

"_Uh, yes he did, I'm still here, he's not, I'd call that ABANDONED!"_

"_Sheesh you don't have to yell, I'm right here. Look, Kai did leave, but he took about half of them with him, better to only have five people shooting at one person than ten shooting at two. This way neither of you has to dodge as much, aaaaannnnnnd, I've got a plan,"_ New Piper said with a large grin.

"_Well, let's have it, I'm all ears,"_ Piper said, knowing that taking advice from what was in her opinion 'a scantly clad' voice in her head was a bad thing, but also knowing that she really had nothing to lose at this point as her sanity was clearly gone.

"_Alright, here's what we're going to do. Remember that radio thing Kai told us about?"_

"_Man I know that's going to come back and bite me in the butt. Piper's going to be pissed, I know it,"_ Kai thought as he dodged another burst of crystal fire meant for him.

_Static_

"Kai, sweetie, are you aware that you left me WITH A SQUARDON OF TALON'S ON MY REAR!" Piper's voice came out of the radio like a screaming banshee loud enough that the perusing talons heard it. Kai could have sworn he heard several snickers.

Gulping, Kai replied as he dodged a few more shots at his backside.

"Uh, yeah, kinda…..look, I'm sorry ok, but it was the only way that I could,"

"SHOVE IT! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY! THE TALON'S SHOULD BE THE LEAST OF YOUR WORRIES! I'M TAKING YOU DOWN MYSELF!"

Kia looked up and saw a clearly angered Piper flying towards him with a squad of talons trailing her, but instead of firing, they seemed to be trying to figure out what was going on.

"_What is she doing? Piper knows I'd never leave her if I didn't think she could handle herself, what's she up too?"_

Focusing as best he could on the younger teen, Kai noticed something off. Even though everything about her screamed 'I'm going to kill you' her mouth was smirking, not scowling.

"_She's coming at me head on with a bunch of talons foll….oh, your good Piper, you are good."_ Now wearing a matching grin, Kai adjusted his angle so that he and Piper were flying head on.

With only seconds to spar, Kai spun his skimmer so that he was now upside down, and saw sparks fall down around him from where the bottom of his skimmer grazed Piper's.

"Gang way!" Kai shouted bringing his skimmer's cannons to life and hitting the squad that had been following Piper, while she open fired on the group that had been tailing him. In a single move, the two had splashed ten more talons.

Bringing his skimmer upside right again, Kai saluted Piper, who laughed before returning one of her own.

"_Man, I can't believe that she had that in her all this time. Why was she holding back? The girls almost as good as her fearless woodpecker,"_ Kai thought before shrugging it off and going to find his next group of targets.

"Hey Schaeffer, you doing alright?" Marina asked the frowning pinkette.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I'm fine. I just need to find a place to leave my Overboard for a little while. It's been so long since I used it that I forgot to recharge it," she replied with a small smile.

"Uh, won't that take you out of the fight? Not that these guys are much trouble, but we really do need a hand out here."

Schaeffer shook her head. Don't worry, I have other ways. I guess here's as good a place as any," she said as her flying surfboard started to fall.

"Schaeffer! Hop on!" Marina shouted, thinking that her friend was in trouble.

Marina dived towards the falling board and its rider and was shocked to see that not only were her eyes were closed, but that she was also smiling.

A pink energy field suddenly surrounded her body, and two large crystal wings sprouted from her back as she kicked off from her board and shot towards the closest talon, like she had jumped from a lateral diving board.

"She can fly?" Marina asked out loud to no one in particular.

"I can do a lot more than fly Marain," Schaeffer said as she reeled back her fist and nailed the talon with a cross cut so strong that it actually sent the poor pilot flying from his seat.

Marina whistled in praise before going back to her own small scale war.

"_She cold cocked him right out of his seat. Too bad she won't be here much longer though, she'd be a good addition to my squad, and I'm sure she could give Zelda a royal fit,"_ Marina thought while chuckling at the images her mind came up with.

Cracking her knuckles, Schaeffer gave her wings a single powerful flap, sending her up into the path of another switchblade.

"Energy field!"

One after another, pink orbs of energy flew from her hands and struck the skimmer until it exploded. The pilot pulled his emergence chute all the while screaming and shaking his fist in anger.

Smiling, Schaeffer crossed her hands over her chest, and closed her eyes in concentration.

At first, nothing happened, but after just a few short seconds a large field of pink energy engulfed her body. Opening her eyes, Schaeffer's face became a blank mask devoid of emotion, though her emerald green eyes glowed with an ethereal emerald light.

"**Time to end this."**

Stretching her hands out to her sides, the pink field of energy flowed from her body and out of her hands, forming two large swords that were over ten feet in length.

_Pttf pttf_

Feeling the crystal blasts strike her, Schaeffer turned to face her attacker, which turned out to be several skimmers.

In a single fluid motion, Schaeffer's blades extended several times their length as she brought them around and sliced the skimmers in half, leaving the stunned pilots to fall before turning back to find more enemy's.

Seeing a large group trying to encircle the area, she took off for them, pausing only long enough to change her blades back to their original length.

"Starling, we need to move now!" Tigger shouted in alarm.

"I see them Tigger, don't worry, I've got I plan.

"A plan? What? To get us killed?" Rondana called out as she fired another salvo of rounds at one of the two destroyers now chasing them.

"No, a good plan, just trust me," Starling replied calmly.

"_I don't know if she made Kai the way he is now, or if he made her like this when they used to be friends. I swear they're so much alike it's scary,"_ Rondana thought as she reflected on the single phrase that she had come to hate with a passion in the last few weeks.

'Trust me'

"Oh how I hate that phrase. Whoever came up with it should be dragged out in into a street and flogged," she muttered as she continued to fire at the destroyer that she swore was getting closer of the two.

"Any time now Starling! They're gaining on us!" Tigger cried out as she cringed into her seat.

"Tigger, Rondana, switch to harpoons and fire on the lead destroyer on my mark," Starling said as she watched what was happening from inside the 'crystal sphere' cockpit.

"What? Harpoons? How do I do that? I barely even know how to fire normal blasts with this piece of junk!" Rondana shouted as her right eyebrow started twitching.

"Rondana, you see the buttons to your right side? Those are the different types of weapons you're armed with, just look for the one that's a harpoon," Tigger explained to her friend, though still not getting where Starling was going with this.

"Harpoon….harpoon…." Rondana said under breath as she looked over the red glowing buttons.

"_There's no labels on any of them, just little pictures, and none of them look even remotely like a harpoon,"_ Rondana's fingers trailed over one that had a snowflake, which was followed by a flame, which was above one that looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what a circle surrounded by three triangles pointing inward stood for.

Coming to the last button, Rondana had to fight the urge to roll her eyes and bang her head on the wall.

"Is it the one with a whale on it?" Rondana asked exasperatedly.

"Yeah, I guess Kai was bored when he did this," Tigger said with a small snicker.

"You two ready yet?" Starling said, the irritation in her voice clear as water.

"Yep, all set and ready here," Tigger replied.

"Ready here too…I guess," Rondana answered with a groan.

"Alright, when I give the signal, fire on the one that's above us."

"Above us? What are you talking aboutttttt!" Tigger was slammed into her harness and nearly gagged from its force.

Starling had apparently fired the retro rockets and used them to bring the freighter to a sudden stop.

"Fire! Now!"

Shaking her head to clear her vision, Tigger fired a second later than Rondana and watched as two harpoons fired from the back of the ship, pierced the destroyer's shields, and embedded themselves into its hull.

"Hang on tight, things are going to get a little bumpy," Starling warned as she pulled her shoulders down and pulled her hands back while thrusting her hips forward.

The result was the freighter taking a sudden nosedive and pulling the now attached destroyer off course.

The difference in size between the freighter and the destroyer meant that the freighter didn't have a chance at pulling the destroyer around like it could a skimmer. But, since the destroyer was still moving forward, and the freighter was only going down, it did have enough force to pull the destroyer slightly off course.

Downward

Causing it to plow into the destroyer that was right beneath it.

The two chains that attached the harpoon to the freighter snapped lose as the two ships plummeted towards the desert floor below.

Tigger and Rondana both watched with matching expressions of amazement and wonder, while Starling looked on with a smug grin.

"_Kai's not the only one that watches tv."_

"They're tearing through us like wet paper bags! At this rate we'll be out of flight capable ships in minutes," Nagera shouted as he slammed his fist on the towers metal wall.

For the last ten minutes he had tried to find a way in, but the tower had no doors, no windows, nor even an air vent that a person could climb through.

Added to that, the metal was seamless, so he couldn't even jimmy open a plate to get in.

"Its like the thing was made to survive a nuke or something," Nagera muttered.

Looking back to the sky, he saw the number of skimmers, and even capital ships continue to dwindle. Three destroyers were down, and about a fourth of his talons were now grounded.

"_These guys are good. But why has the Council been holding them back for so long? If they sent them into Cyclonia, the war would've ended a year ago."_

Weighing his options, Nagera made a call that he hoped would solve this problem.

Hey Rose, how much longer till its ready?"

The older woman looked around at the streams of numbers and symbols that flowed throughout the towers walls and sighed.

"Not much longer, twenty minutes at most," she replied before going back to her work.

"Do you think it will work?"

The older woman didn't respond, causing the already annoyed teen to growl before stomping off.

"And just where are you going?" She asked, still not turning to face the young teen.

"I'm going out there to help my friends," she said as she jumped onto the lift and hit the switch to lower it.

Rose smiled as she heard to lift each the bottom.

"Make him proud Arabella."

"Stupid older people think they can just tell me what to do. They're not even that much older than me!" Shadow snarled as she pulled free her crystal ax.

Entering the series of commands that she had seen Schaeffer perform several times since arriving, Shadow jumped through the opening in the wall before it closed shut behind her.

"Now, all I have to do is,"

"So you're the leader of the Sky Council's special ops division? I must say I was expecting someone…older."

Shadow froze.

"_That voice, I know that voice! It's Nagera!"_

"Though I'm not complaining, it's not every day I get to fight someone who's as skilled and good looking as I am."

"_This guy's way above my league, I don't have a prayer of winning against him,"_ Shadow thought as her hands started to shake.

"_What can I do? I can't fight him, maybe I can bluff him? I've seen Kai do it plenty of times, and Aerrow does it every time we get in a jam."_ Swallowing the lump in her throat, Shadow took a deep breath to steel herself.

"_You can do this Shadow."_

Feeling a wave of confidence and calmness suddenly pass over her, Shadow spoke with the same calm authoritative tone she heard Starling use in the past.

"And just who might you be?"

She could hear Nagera chuckle.

"So confident in your abilities that you don't even feel the need to face me? I like that in a girl, too bad you're playing for the wrong side," he replied confidently.

"_He doesn't know who you are, he's trying to feel you out."_

Feeling a slight dizzy spell come over her, Shadow spoke again, still not turning to face Nagera.

"I asked for you name and you flirt? Uou must be one of Lark's personal lackeys. What's wrong _boy_ can't find anyone that will put up with you back home?"

Nagera raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Ow, kitten has claws does she? This day's getting better and better."

"_Attack his pride; it's close to his heart. Turn that against him and make him lose control."_

Closing her eyes, Shadow tried to will away the dizzy feeling that kept growing in the back of her mind.

"So I take it you haven't looked in a mirror yet have you?"

Nagera's smirk dropped slightly.

"Pretty big words for such a little thing. I've cut men down for saying less."

Shadow felt a smirk spread across her face.

"Men huh? I didn't know you were that bad off. Have you tried getting a cat?"

Nagera frowned.

"You have prodded me for the last time wench. I'll take you down, and then force you to watch as my men finish off your squadron!"

Shadow chuckled.

"Your men couldn't find their backsides with both hands **AND** your help. **You** expect me to believe they could do any real damage? **Look** around, your skimmers are littering the field as far as the eye can see. They are no threat to us, **just as you are no threat to me**. Be gone little worm, crawl back to your master like the little pawn you are." Shadow's voice fluxed between three similar, yet still distinctively different voices.

Two of which actually sounded male.

Once again Shadow felt a warmness spreading through out her body; while at the same time a chill pass over along spine. Her smirk grew and for a brief second she was aware that her flight suit was becoming slightly more snug around her frame. Not much, but around her arm, legs, and stomach it felt that is was a tad bit tighter than it had before.

"Enough talk; let's see you back up all that talk!" Nagera shouted as he lunged with his now drawn blade.

Shadow looked over her shoulder at the charging man with a bored expression.

"**Very **well, I guess we **have **enoughtime to play with you, _**boy**_**.**"

Blade raised high, Nagera brought it down to slice her in half, but was stunned when his blade was blocked by a green crystal ax.

"**Hello Nagera, remember me?"** Shadow asked feeling a burning sensation course through her veins.

Schaeffer fired another two energy orbs at the skimmer as she passed under it. She knew it was wrong to 'play' when things were so serious, but it had been many years since she had the opportunity to battle as part of a team, and she couldn't help but feel a familiar sense nostalgia as she battled alongside this group of young warriors.

"_Just like old times huh Jer? I'll be coming back to you soon, I promise."_

_Brrrbbbbbbrrrrbb_

Schaeffer's warm smile vanished, as did her energy field. She even felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"_No, it's not possible. Not after all this time, he can't be back. Shadow should have another whole day before she was in any real danger."_

"Schaeffer! Heads up!"

Brought back to reality, Schaeffer saw Piper pull up with a worried expression on her face.

"Piper, what's wrong?"

"Something doesn't feel right; I think something's about to happen, something big."

"_Does she know?"_

"What do you mean?"

Piper shook her head. "I don't know, it's just, something doesn't feel right. The talons are heading for low altitude, and that only makes them easier targets for us. I think they're up to something, but I'm not sure what."

"_She means the battle, not….him,"_ Nodding thoughtfully, Schaeffer frowned. "What would you suggest? You know their tactics better than myself."

Piper bit her lip.

"I think we should follow them. If they're heading low, they must have a reason. They're dumb, but not that dumb."

Schaeffer nodded. "I'll go down for a closer look, you tell the others."

Piper nodded in affirmation and turned as Schaeffer folded her wings back and falcon dived towards the ground below.

"You? I know you, you're that little Storm Hawk girl," Nagera said, recognizing her face instantly.

"And here I thought you were a threat? Ha! What are you? A runaway? This little group you new family?" He asked mockingly.

Shadow barred her teeth, but said nothing, instead she threw him back with a single motion before dropping into a defensive stance.

"Hate to break it too ya honey, but your little friends about to take a long dirt nap. I'll be sure to give you a nice spot close to them when I'm finished with you."

Shadow's eye's widened for only a split second before narrowing.

"Your still losing men, my friends are just fine."

Nagera grinned. "So sure about that are we?"

Starling watched as sparks began dancing across the remaining five destroyers.

"What on Atmos is that?"

"Hey _static _did _static_ something?"

"Tigger? I'm sorry but I didn't catch that, could you repeat what you just said?"

"What on Atmos?" Kai looked around before trying to clear out his ear with his pinky. "What is that racket? It sounds like a lose fanbelt or something."

"I know that sound? But where did I hear it before?" Piper thought out loud. Feeling a tug on her neck, she looked down to see the zipper on her flight suit rise and point towards the destroyers like a compass needle.

"That's weird; it's almost like its being pulled by a magnet."

Piper's eyes widened as she slammed her fist down onto her radio.

"HIT THE DECK NOW! THEY'RE GOING TO FIRE AN EMP!"

Everything went white as a surge of electricity filled the sky.

Looking up, Schaeffer saw the field of electricity coming her way and quickly raised a barrier to protect herself.

"_What a dirty trick, to use something like that on people!"_ Schaeffer's eyes widened as she realized that the others had no way to protect themselves from the blast.

"AHH! Tigger! What the heck is this?!" Rondana screamed. To her it felt like she was being pushed down on hot coals, while at the same time getting stung by swarms of hornets.

Neither Tigger or Starling responded however, as both of them were suffering from the same effects. Tigger, who had rarely ever cried felt her face wet, and even Starling, who had been trained to resist torture tasted blood from biting her lip so hard.

Piper rolled Kai's skimmer so that the bottom was facing the destroyers, and thus absorbed a majority of the blast. Her hands and feet however were still hit and felt thousands of tiny needles prickling her down to the bone.

"AHHH! Lark, I can't believe you'd stoop this low," Piper mutter as she tired to hang on to the still vertical skimmer.

"_When I get my hands on whoever ordered that attack, they're going to wish their grandfather had never been born!"_ Kai screamed inside his head as he clutched his skimmer's controls for dear life.

Unlike the others, he had been moving away from the blast when it went off, meaning that his still slightly tender back took the full brunt of the blast.

"_I hope the others are alright….gaaa, this is worst than…ahh! Star! Help me!"_

To Kai, the world went black.

Marina watched as the pulse of electricity came closer and closer.

"_I can't dodge it, it's too close!"_

Cringing, Marina brought up her hands to cover her face before seeing a gold flash, followed by nothingness.

"You monster! Your own men were caught in that blast!" Shadow screamed as she felt the heat inside her begin to boil.

In her life, she had become upset many times, she had become angry quite a few time, she had been steamed on rare occasions, and every once and awhile, she had become truly ticked off.

But now,

Now she was beyond ticked, pissed off was still light years from being good enough. What she felt now, was pure, unrestrained rage.

And its target was only feet away from her.

_Thu thump_

_Thu thump_

Shadow felt her suit become a bit tighter, and the grip around her crystal ax squeeze until she could no longer fell her knuckles.

_Thu thump_

_Thu thump_

Looking up at the smirking man, Shadow felt her mouth spread into a scowl that barred her teeth savagely enough that her father would have been proud.

"You like causing people pain Nagera? You like hurting those around you without giving a single thought to what you're doing, or who you're hurting?"

As she spoke, Shadow felt something scalding hot spread across her chest, but right now, she didn't care. In fact, to her the pain was good, pain caused anger, and anger was now her fuel.

Nagera smirked at the reaction he was getting from the girl, knowing that she was about to completely lose it, and be no more of a threat to him than an angry toddler throwing a tantrum.

"_One more good barb should do it, all I have to do is….what is that?"_ Nagera's eye's narrowed as he saw a flicker of red on the girl's chest. At first it only looked like a sparking wire, but it then began to glow brightly and mover around her torso outlining a design of some sort.

"_It almost looks like some kind of…eye?"_

"You **have** attacked me, you have tried to hurt me, and **now** you hurt my friends," Shadow seethed before looking up into Nagera's eyes with her own hate filled ones before disappearing into a wisp of black smoke.

"What the? Where'd she go?" Nagera said looking around for the now gone teen girl.

"**Now it's my turn Nagera!"** A hollow voice called out from above.

Nagera looked up just in time to see Shadow falling towards him with her ax raised in one hand.

Bringing up his sword, Nager blocked the attack, but was unprepared when her free hand came soaring around the conjoined weapons and hit him across the jaw and knocking him back.

Bringing his blade around to counter, he grinned wildly as his blade touched her flight suit, only to be thrown forward by his own momentum when her body again phased into smoke and disappeared.

"What is this girl? I've never seen anything like this before," Nagera said as he dropped into a defensive stance.

"**Your stance is flawed. You lean too much on your right heel."**

Nagera turned towards the voice only to see the girl appear out of thin air and hit him in the shin with a sweeping kick.

"**See, to much weight means you cant properly evade low attacks,. Also leaning to your right like that leaves your entire left back quarter exposed."**

Before he could even move, Shadow appeared behind Nagera and hit him with a jab hard enough to knock him on his stomach before again disappearing.

Growling, the older man pulled out his portable radio.

"I want all hands down here now! Find those pilots and deal with them as soon as you find them!"

Looking around he felt his smirk return. "You hear that? Your little friends are history! I'll make them wish they had fallen into the wastelands!"

"**I would be more worried about what I'm about to do to you, rather than what they are going to do to your men."**

Looking around and seeing nothing, Nagera rolled to the side expecting another areal assault, which never came.

"Come out and fight me you coward!"

"**Like you are? Very well, if you wish to see me, I'm right HERE!"**

Nagera screamed as he felt something grab him by the ankle and drag him down below the surface, leaving only his head and half his torso above ground.

"**I have waited a long time for this chance. You think I don't remember what happened last time we fought? How you held me by the throat, choking me until I nearly blacked out?!"**

Using all his strength, Nagera flew from the ground and charged the girl with a lateral swing, which she deftly blocked with an angled parry, leaving him unbalanced.

Not pausing to give him a break, Shadow hit him in the rib with reversing snap kick that sent him to the ground.

"**How does it feel to be powerless Nagera? To struggle just to keep moving, to actually have to force yourself to remain conscious?"**

Not one to go down without a fight, Nagera caught his second wind and brought his blade around in a series of lightning fast motions, all of which Shadow dodged with minimum movement.

"Hold still!" Nagera shouted as he continued to speed up hi assault.

"**Hold still? Alright, I'll take you down without dodging a single attack!"** Shadow shouted as she brought up her crystal ax and blocked every one of Nagera's attacks, all the while keeping her eyes locked to his.

No matter what Nagera threw at her, she blocked and parried every strike with expert precision.

"_She's even better than Dark Ace! How did she get this good?"_

For a brief second, he could have sworn that he saw a young man standing behind Shadow, holding her wrists in his hands and guiding her movements.

"_High lateral guard, left stretching wing, reverse hold, push, return hold, right angle block, flat guard. His movements are textbook material. Just keep deflecting his attacks until he runs out of steam."_

Shadow shook her head to clear out the mental 'fog' that had build up.

"_What's going on? How am I fighting Nagera and not losing?"_ It didn't make any sense. She knew that Nagera was way better than she was, yet here she was fighting him as easily as Aerrow did with regular talons.

"_And why do I feel, warm? It almost feels like someone's holding me."_

Groaning, Tigger pushed herself up off the turret controls only to hiss in pain.

"Ahh, my hands."

Looking down she saw a few minor burns and blisters that now covered her palms. Several sparks rained down on her from above, which caused her to cry out in surprise.

"Tigger, you ok?" A dry voice called out from somewhere behind.

Everything was pitch black, and she could smell burnt wiring and fried equipment all around her.

Tigger coughed several times before responding. "Yeah, I'm still breathing. You?"

Again, sparks went off filling the dark interior with brief moments of light, just enough that she knew the ship was in bad shape.

"I think so….where's Starling?" Rondana asked before breaking into a fit of coughing.

"I don't know…Starling? Starling, you there?" Tigger called out.

"Hey Starling, come on, let us know your alright, Starling?" Rondana shouted as loudly as her horse voice could.

"We've got to get out of here, all this smoke will kill us if we stay," Tigger said as she pulled free from her safety harness.

"We have to find Starling first, we can't leave her in here," Rondana replied as she stepped into Tigger's turret.

"She should be in the cockpit, come on," Tigger motioned before stumbling over her own feet.

The two struggled as they made their way to the cockpit. Panels were open, wires hanging from the ceiling, and sparks were showering the floor every few seconds.

"_This is bad, I don't think me, Stork and Eva together could get this bird in the air again,"_ Tigger thought as they reached the cockpit.

"Starling!"

Looking up as she heard Rondana run forward, she saw the reason for her outcry only a few feet away.

There, in the center of the cockpit, lying on her back was Starling.

"Rondana, is she ok?" Tigger asked, jumping as a series of wires popped and fizzled above them.

The older teen knelt down and placed one hand on the older woman's stomach.

"She's breathing, but I think she got a concussion. We need to get her out of here, fast."

Tigger cringed, knowing that things were about as bad as they could be.

"There's an emergency hatch in the top, you think we can get her out through it?"

Rondana looked up at the hatch in question.

"With head trauma, you're supposed to keep the person as still as possible, but if we stay in here we'll suffocate. It's a lose lose either way you look at it," she replied biting her lip.

"Come on, we have to do something! I'll crawl out on top of the ship, and then you feed her up to me alright?"

Rondana nodded her head in response as she shook the older woman beneath her.

"Come on Starling, wake up, wake up. I know it hurts, but you have to open your eyes," Rondana said in a hushed, but still worried tone.

_Groan_

"Please, come on Starling, if you don't open you eyes, you might fall into a coma, and we really can't handle that right now. The ships toast, we're all hanging by a thread here, and I know Kai will fall apart if you're not ok. Come on Starling, wake up!" Rondana said with a bit more force as she shook the woman with a little more force.

While this was happening, Tigger carefully twisted the hatch open, being careful to mind the burns on her hands as she did so.

"_This is bad, really really bad. We need help."_

She nearly dropped on her butt when the hatch was suddenly flung open, but she let out a sigh of relief when a familiar head of red hair dropped in.

"Everything ok in there?"

"Thank heavens. Marina, we need help. Starlings out cold and Rondana thinks it's serious. We can't move her safely, but we need to get her out of here."

The redhead absorbed the information for a moment before replying.

"Will this ship ever fly again?"

Tigger looked around, before shaking her head. "No, this things scrapped for good."

"Ok, sit back for a second. I'll open a door in the side, it should be safer to mover her out that way."

"What door? Marina? Hello!"

Tigger eeped when two gold colored blades suddenly cut through the ships hull at the top, then slowly moved downward to the bottom, carving a large hole in the wall.

"Come on, we have to hurry!" Marina shouted as she put away her weapons and rushed in.

"Why, what's going on?"

Marina dropped down beside Rondana and helped her lift Starling as gently as possible.

"They're coming. The rats flew at low altitude so most of them escaped the blast unharmed, and now they're heading this way."

Tigger's eyes widened.

Shadow had long since figured out that this battle was pointless. She could finish off Nagera at her leisure, but something was making her drag the fight out. She wasn't sure what though.

"Greetings vassal."

Shadow jumped.

"_Who said that?"_

"That is of no importance. I see that you are enjoying my…gift to you. However, it is not free of charge. Your father has been a most gracious host, but I feel that he is no longer of any use, not when a much more acceptable one is at hand."

Shadow felt her heart start racing.

"_The curse!"_

"Yes, though I have a name, I see no reason to give it to one that is but a shell for my use. You will serve my purpose very well indeed Shadow, or should I say, Arabella?"

"_No, no! You are not taking control of me!"_

"You have no choice in the matter. Your anger is your power, your anger if your fuel, your anger, is your weakness."

"_Shut up! You are not controlling me! I will fight you till the day I die!"_

"Such is futility. Your father has 'fought' me since the day I took him over, as did his brother, and his father before him. Your cooperation is not necessary puppet. You have no say in this matter."

Shadow couldn't help but shudder. The voice was hollow, completely devoid of any emotion.

The cold was taking over, replacing the heat that coursed through her veins.

Her hand clinched tighter around the hilt of her weapon, and flung it with more strength then she had even felt before.

"You see child, your 'will' means nothing. You are my puppet to control, my shell to use, and my toy to do with as I please."

Holding out her right hand high into the air, a wisp of smoke rose and formed into a familiar broad sword.

"**My reawaking is now complete. The earth shall again tremble before me, and fall to my will."** Shadow said as she turned to the now clearly frightened Nagera.

"Ugh, why do I feel like I just left one of Finn's raves?" Kai asked as he pushed himself up slowly.

"Kai! You're alive!"

Opening his eyes, Kai blinked several times at seeing a shock of pink hair.

"Schaeffer? What happened?"

"The enemy used an E.M.P. You were hit and crashed, as did the others."

"Others…Star!" Jumping to his feet, Kai was about to run off when a strong pain of hands grabbed him by the shoulders.

"We have much bigger problems to worry about now that your friends."

Shoving Schaeffer's grip off, Kai turned and gave her his strongest glare.

"Shadow's presence has had an unforeseen consequence. I can't really go into details, but we have to stop her."

"You stop her; I'm going to protect my friends. If they hit the ground, then the talons are going to be all over them soon."

Before he could move, he was spun around again.

"I don't think you understand the situation. If Shadow is not stopped, your friends will die for certain, as will many more innocents. Now tell me, which would Starling prefer you do? Try to aid her in escaping the talons? Or to prevent the world from being plunged into darkness that hasn't been seen for thousands of years?"

Kai's face twisted into a feral scowl.

"I may have only known you for a short period of time, but I know that you respect this woman, and would do whatever she asks of you, regardless of your thoughts or feelings on the matter. Now please, we don't have much time."

Taking two deep breaths, Kai calmly looked into her eyes.

"What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to fight Shadow, and hold her off until the charging process is complete. This situation can be fixed, but I can't do it without your help."

Kai nodded before looking around, then groaning.

"Well my skimmer's toast. How are we supposed to make it back? If things are as bad as you say, running is out of the question.

Schaeffer smiled as her wings opened with a flare. "Not a problem."

Kai eyed the wings doubtfully. "Uhh, you really think you can carry me? I know your pretty strong, but," Kai never got to finish the statement, as Schaeffer spun him around the other way and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Try not to move, I don't want to drop you ok?"

Before he could reply, Kai found himself looking down at the ground from a good twenty feet up.

"Marina! Rondana! What's going on?" Piper shouted as she dismounted from her skimmer.

"Piper, Starling's in bad shape. We can't move her, but the talons are heading this way. We need a plan."

"We have two working skimmers, that's not enough to get all of us out of here," Tigger pointed out.

Radarr plopped down beside Starling, his skimmer having crashed not too far away.

"Can we fly Starling out of here?" Piper asked as they watched the horde of switchblades approach.

Rondana shook her head. "No, I need time to work on her first. If her concussion isn't treated she could fall into a coma, and unlike in the movies, people rarely wake up from them in real life."

"So we can't move her, we can't even really run, what are we supposed to do?" Tigger demanded.

Marina drew her scimitars, and switched them into a reverse hold.

"We fight."

"So your telling me that Shadow is somehow being controlled through means you cant tell me how, by someone, that you cant tell me who, and is trying to do something 'bad' that you cant tell me what. Is there anything you _can_ tell me that might help out here?"

"Yes, she will be fighting at a level much higher than normal. I've seen people in this situation fight several master grade fighters with ease. She will also have enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes. Believe me when I tell you this, you have never fought anyone this powerful before."

Kai smirked.

"Sounds like fun."

"Do not underestimate her. It might be Shadow's body, but it's not Shadow. She's being used as a puppet, though she will still have all of her memories, and might even sound like her."

"So what do I do?"

"Keep her as far from me as possible while I try to fix the situation. This will not be easy though. If you could use your powers it might be a more even match, but that's not possible from what Rose told me."

Kai furrowed his brow in thought.

"What about yours?"

"Hm?"

"You said before that our power's are similar, are they similar enough that I could use yours?"

"Kai, we don't have time for me to properly transfer my energy to you and repair your own," before she could finish Kai cut her off.

"Not to repair my powers, just give me a quick charge. If our powers are similar, I should be able to use them."

"Kai, that's stupid. For one we don't even know if it would work, and second, even if it did you'd be in excruciating pain from having your energy network flooded."

"I can take pain, besides, what do we have to lose? You're making it sound like I can't fight her as is anyway. At least this way we have a shot?"

Shaking her head the woman sighed.

"Are you sure you want to do this? When I say you're going to be in pain, I mean it. This will be unlike anything you've ever experienced before."

"Schaeffer, that's my little sister down there. If someone is hurting her, I'm going to make sure they get ten times whatever they did to her."

Seeing Schaeffer's expression remain the same, Kai sighed. "Look, she's not my flesh and blood, but we've both been through some dark times. If we didn't have each other, I'm pretty sure that neither of us would be standing here right now. As far as I'm concerned, she's my little sister, and nobody hurts her and gets away with it."

Schaeffer narrowed her gaze before nodding.

"Ok, but remember, even if this works, it wont last for long."

Kai nodded in appreciation. 'Thank you."

Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Schaeffer focused as much energy into her hands as she could before forcing it into Kai.

**ROOOOGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

Piper and Marina both looked up in alarm as the terrible roar echoed across the terra.

Tigger voiced their collective thoughts.

"What the heck was that!?"

_Groan _"Kai"

Rondana looked down at Starling, whose head was resting in her lap. She couldn't swear to it, but it sounded like Starling had said something.

"Come on Starling, wake up, we need you here," Rondana pleaded.

Her only response was another groan.

Piper readied her staff as best she could in her aching hands, while Marina dropped into her most aggressive stance. Tigger and Radarr both flanked Rondana and Starling, acting as a final line of defense.

"Piper, whatever happens here, I want you to know that it was an honor to fight by your side."

Looking up, Piper was surprised by what Marina had said, but managed a weak smile as she replied.

"You too Marina."

Before them a sea of switchblades came diving from above, opening fire on the group below.

End chapter 15

Ok, I know you guys want to skin me alive now, but I had to stop here. I have the rest done in my head, but this chapter was already 28 pages, and I try to keep them around 20, 25 at most. But fear not! The next chapter will be up soon, I promise, no more than four days tops. The commercial from last time with Schaeffer and Kai's powers will appear in the next chapter, I just hadn't counted on this one turning out a big as it did. Please review and tell me what you thought of this one!

Now, onto the commercials! (I won't reuse the one from last time)

"Piper! Behind you!" Marina shouted as she threw the talon over her shoulder and tried to reach her friend, only to be tackled by several more.

Piper tried to break her captures gripe, but before she could move a searing pain filled her senses, and everything faded to black.

"**Is this the extent of your power? Pathetic, and to think I looked up to you. You're even weaker than Finn!"**

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Kai pushed himself up to his feet.

"You're one to talk. So weak that you have to use a little girl to fight. At least I fight my own battles!"

Eyes narrowed, Shadow swung her sword over her head in a wide arc before hurling it a Kai with all her strength.

"_Kai, please, help me!"_ Shadow cried out into the darkness.

"_Arabella! Come on, your friend needs you!"_

Shaking her head, Shadow choked back her tears to speak. "I need him, I need all of them. I'm too weak; I can't do this by myself!"

"_They need you! Come on, no daughter of mine would give up like this! Fight!"_ The red eyed man shouted before pulling his twin crystal blade free from his back mounted sheath.

"If you won't fight, then I'll make you!" He roared as he lunged at the crying girl.

Next time, in Winds of Change Book II

Chapter 16: Battle of the Ancients! A Friends Decision!

"Piper! Do it now!" Rose ordered.

Hot tears streaming down her cheeks, Piper slammed the two glowing red crystals together with only a single thought in mind.

"_Aerrow, Starling, please forgive me."_

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	16. Battle of the Ancients!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 16: Battle of the Ancients! A Friends Decision!

AN: Whew, this is my longest chapter to date, and that's saying something. Sorry it's a little late. Had to go to a funeral, then I had to babysit the Oni-Gaki (Japanese for Demon Brats) and now I'm sick. At the moment, I can't even actually talk and I'm too weak to fight my mom for the remote control. So I figured instead of watching 'The Wlatons' or 'Little House on the Perry' I'd finish this monster up. In the future, my chapters won't be this big, this one is just very important for the future character development of the cast and has some really good fight scenes (which are always a pain in the butt to write out). Now, I will tell you now that this chapter, like I said before, will have some very dark parts to it. I have, however tried to balance it out as best I can with the other colors of the writing spectrum, though some parts will be a little rough. I hope you enjoy this, because it was the hardest thing I have had to write (other than my Digimon story) to date.

Enjoy!

Also don't forget check out Arashi21's new story: Fighting Wings! Which ties in with the Winds of Change serie, but is told through the eyes of Kestrel!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda, or Code Lyoko. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment, Nintendo and Moonscape, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

For the first time since the Nightmare of Mesa, Kai cried.

Not whimpered, not sniffled.

Cried

He remained silent, true, but tears were streaming down his face like a river.

"_AHHHH! It feels like my bloods turning into lead! It hurts!"_

Letting lose a feral roar, Kai channeled every ounce of pain that coursed through his being into energy. A trick that he had picked up from Rose years ago. Dragons were always strong, even when extremely old, but when they were injured, angry, or in any form of pain this was especially true.

And right now, Kai felt like he was being boiled alive from the inside out.

Looking down at her cargo, Schaeffer blinked away a single tear form her eye. She knew the pain the boy was experiencing first hand, as she recalled some of the more desperate plans she had partaken in during past missions, including one occasion where her friends had transferred their power back to her.

To put it simply, it felt like having air forced into every pore of your skin through hypodermic needles.

But thankfully, the boy had been right. He had survived the transfer, and now had a chance to fight on equal ground.

"Kai, you alright?"

The teen craned his neck up to look her in the face, and she cringed. His eyes were red rimmed, but his slit pupils had narrowed to the point of looking like razor blades.

"**Fully Charged. Just get me to Shadow, and I'll do my best, but I can't promise you that I'll last too long in this state."**

Schaeffer nodded, catching his point that even though he was in an 'empowered state' the process had drained him of any real endurance. This meant that Shadow only had to hit him a few good times to put him down, powered or not, a person could only take so much pain.

As the two made their way to the tower, they saw the top 'bloom' open like a flower, and two figures 'dancing' across the now exposed top floor.

"**It's Rose, she's in trouble."**

Schaeffer focused her vision on the now open roof of the tower, and saw that Rose was indeed in a spot of trouble.

Armed with a gold staff, she was doing a good job at holding off the broadsword armed Shadow.

However, there was one problem.

Rose no longer had a physical body, just an electromagnetic crystal energy field. So while she could interact with things physically, it was only to a limited degree and for a very limited period of time.

"Come now child. You think you can fight me?" Rose taunted.

Shadow snarled as she brought her sword around to try and decapitate Rose.

Keyword: Try

"I have had ten thousand years to practice ever form of combat known to my past hosts. You have limited yourself to a single style of combat, and have been around for far less time that I. Why don't you retreat back into that sword you've called a prison for the last few thousand years and save yourself the humiliation you would receive should I take this fight serious?"

"**Big talk Dragon. I have killed many of your kind in my time, I shall add your skin to my collection. I am no fool. Your time on this plain is limited. Mine is not."**

Bringing her sword down with all her strength, Shadow slammed into Rose's staff. The resulting shockwave shook the tower itself and created a blast of air strong enough to knock a person down.

But Rose merely grinned as she held her staff firmly.

With one hand.

"My time might be limited, but so is yours. Tell me oh fallen one, how did you go about slaying my brethren? Poison them? Slay them in their sleep? Or did you bring their den down around them as they healed from fighting armies? I know your kind, cowards to the core. Your time is nigh, fool." Rose said delivering a powerful kick to knock Shadow off balance.

Looking up in surprise, Shadow spun around one full time before letting her blade fly like a disc of death.

To her shock, Rose swatted the nearly six foot blade with the back of one hand as though it were an annoying fly.

"Being trapped inside that crystal has given me precious few chances to experience actual battle, and even then it is always disappointing. Trying to reach out, but being forced to hold back, fearing that too much power and I will kill someone, or will cause harm to innocents. I grow weary of living in this glass world. It is true that you are using my vassal's friend as a host, but I also know that she cannot be harmed so long as you are in control. You, and only you shall feel my wrath!" Rose shouted as she brought her staff around to slam into Shadow's side, knocking her to the ground and almost off the circular platform into the towers interior.

"**Rose! Heads up!"**

Not even turning to look, Rose ducked to the side as Kai flew past her like a heat seeking missile into Shadow, knocking her off the platform, and into the towers interior, with him clinging to her torso like a vice.

Seconds later Schaeffer landed beside her, folding her wings before rushing to her side.

"Rose! Are you ok?"

For a moment Rose didn't respond, but her shoulders quickly slumped and her breathing became labored as she dropped to her knees.

"I…I am fine. But my time is short. She managed to reprogram something before I drove her off, but I'm not sure what. You have to hurry and fix it. If we miss this window we'll have to start over again."

Schaeffer sighed.

"I know Rose, I know. But I can only do my best. How much time do you have left?"

Rose took several deep breaths.

"Five, minutes, maybe more if I don't do anything more than breathe. She's gotten stronger since last time, almost forced me to use everything I had just to hold her off."

"I told you that she'll gets stronger every time. If this doesn't work, we might not get another chance, you know that right?"

Rose nodded sadly. "I know, but what's left to lose?"

Schaeffer sighed again as she went to work on fixing whatever she had done to the towers systems.

"**Get off of me you fool!"**

"**Make me!"**

Shadow snarled before punching Kai in the gut full force, knocking the wind out of him, and forcing him to let go.

The two were currently falling towards the rapidly approaching ground, and fighting to insure the other would land on the bottom.

"**I have waited long for this day, and no child is going to deny me my victory!"** Shadow shouted harshly.

"**I don't care how long you've waited! You're not using my little sister you freak! Whoever you are come out and fight me yourself!"** Kai shouted as he blocked her punches as best he could, trying not to hurt Shadow in the process.

"_Kai, you idiot, it's her body but it's not her! You don't have to hold back, she can't feel a thing, and whatever damage is done to he can be healed. Just don't kill her!"_ Rose shouted in his mind.

"_I can't just hit her! She's my friend!"_ Kai shouted back mentally.

"_Do you think she wants to hurt you? Kai, listen to yourself! She's being controlled like a puppet, but she can see and hear everything happening around her. Do you want her to see you get beaten to death by her own hands! FIGHT BACK!"_ Rose ordered, making sure to use Starling's voice rather than her own.

"_But, if I hurt her, she'll…"_

"_Kai, if you fight her with everything you've got, she will respect you far more than if you let that _thing_ force her into killing you. You have to prove how far you are willing to go to protect your friends, even from themselves. Show her that you ARE her brother. Fight HER TO FREE HER!"_

Gritting his teeth, Kai growled. He knew that what Rose was saying was true, but at the same time, it meant he would have to actually fight one of his closest friends as though they were the enemy.

Blinking, he looked up and caught Shadow's fist in his open hand, before catching her next strike with his other.

"**It's nothing personal Shadow, but I can let you win!"** Kai shouted as he switched holds and pulled her arms around so that he was behind her.

"**I will not allow you to defeat me again Kai!"**

For a brief moment, Kai's eyes jumped, but he did not release his hold. Feeling Shadow pull her arms open, he knew that she would quickly break his hold at this rate.

"_Man, I hope she's in a forgiving mood after this."_

Taking a deep breath, Kai released his hold before clamping his arms around her in a reverse, then spinning her so she was facing the ground, before tightening his hold and wrapping his legs around hers to hold them in place.

"**Falcon drop!"** Kai shouted as the two slammed into the ground with enough force to shake the tower.

"Rrrraaaaarrrr!" With a feral cry, Marina ran at full speed at Piper before jumping.

Piper, who figured out her plan, caught her by the heel before throwing the older woman skyward.

"Lets see dodge this!" Reeling her arms back, Marina let lose a blast of gold and red crystal energy that snaked across the sky, knocking out dozens of switchblades before slamming into the ground.

Rondana and Tigger, along with Radarr and Griffy,( who had emerged from the wreckage just before the battle had begun) watched as their only two remaining fighters fought what everyone knew was a losing battle.

"Come on Starling, we need your help! Please wake up!" Tigger shouted as she shook the unconscious woman's shoulders.

"Tigger! Leave her be! We need her to wake up, not go into a coma!"

"Rondana! Look around! If she doesn't wake up we're toast!"

"I know that Tigger, but she's injured! You don't send an injured person into the front lines, no matter how desperate the situation is!" Rondana barked back.

Clinching her fists, Tigger found herself wishing that the Healing crystal was still in one piece for the millionth time since the mission began.

"_I know it was to break the curse, but we really need it now. For once I actually CAN blame everything on Aladd, and it doesn't make me feel better!"_

"_Ugh, and to think you're the one who took my place? Unacceptable!"_

Jumping in surprise, Tigger turned her head to look behind her, her neck sounding like an old creaky door as she did.

Standing behind her was a tall, thin young woman in her late twenty's, wearing what looked like some form of street clothing.

But what caught her attention was the almost proud widow's peak that the woman's hair formed above her brow.

"_That…that…that's not possible! She died four thousand years ago!"_

The woman rolled her eyes before groaning.

"_I swear, and people called me an airhead? Look, I don't really have time to explain, and I don't really care to either. So let's get straight to the point. Oh, and don't talk out loud. Your little friends have enough to deal with right now without having to worry about you going crazy and talking to thin air."_

"_But….you…your,"_

"_Yes, my name is Elizabeth Delmas Dumbar, and yes, I know that I'm…dead. Before you go screaming about ghosts, I want to clarify, I am not a ghost, I am shadow, an imprint left behind on this terra. Sort of like this terra's memory of me, got it?"_

Tigger nodded, but kept her mouth shut.

"_Now, I can understand why you're having trouble, but you need to pull yourself together girl and get your butt in the game!"_

Blinking, and trying to think of a way to respond without actually talking, Tigger decided to try 'thinking' at the irate woman.

"_Unless you're blind, we're surrounded by like, a hundred guys on skimmers. We're all still banged up pretty bad from earlier. Heck, my hands are burned and I'm surprised Rondana was able to even carry Starling out here, even with Marina's help!"_

The older woman rolled her eyes again.

"_You complain more than me, Sam and Odd combined. Geeze you're a brat."_ Not seeing, (or rather, not caring) the look Tigger shot her, the woman continued.

"_Look, you might not be aware of this, but your little friends a host for the Catseye curse right now and is currently pounding the tar out of Sleeping Beauty's boy toy."_

Tigger's eyes widened

"_Fortunately for you, this is a good thing."_

"_HOW IS MY FRIEND BECOMING A TRAITOR A GOOD THING!"_ Tigger 'thought' as loudly as she could.

"_I swear if Odd cracks one joke about us being related…look, it's a good thing because it means that you can use my powers again, if only temporarily," _she explained.

Tigger furrowed her brow in concentration.

"_What powers? I've never had any powers. Just a stolen Cyclonian staff and a bunch of crystals."_

The older woman looked about ready to pull her hair out.

"_THE HEALING CRYSTAL YOU FLEE BRAINED TWIT! My powers were not from Mrs. Einstein, they were mine! I awoke them because I wanted a way to help my friends, but they were linked to William's curse because I wished to help…Ulric."_

"_Uh…who?"_

"_Look, I told you I don't have time to explain, so I'm going to make this so simple that even a blond could understand it ok?"_

It took a second for the insult to register, but before Tigger could quip back she continued.

"_My powers were awakened through my desire to help a friend 'fight' the Dumbar…Catseye curse. Through that desire, I gained the ability to heal others, but only as long as the curse was active. As time passed, my continual use of this healing power caused my mothers necklace to become a Healing Crystal through exposure to my powers. That's why it was still able to heal others. The powers of the Healer however, are linked to the curse. The stronger it becomes, the stronger the Healer's. You are the current Healer, even without the crystal. With your friend's blood having awakened, so has yours."_

It took only a brief moment for Tigger to piece the pieces together.

"_Now hurry up! Your friends won't last long without help."_ With that, the woman faded from view, leaving Tigger alone with her thoughts.

"_Great, I can heal, but how do I make it work? Not like SHE TOLD ME HOW TO USE HER FREAKING POWERS!"_ Tigger' thought' shouted again.

Between Marina's special attack, and Piper's ice crystal sniping, quite a few of the enemy's had been grounded.

The problem now however, was that instead of just aerial opponents, they had air and land based ones to deal with.

At the same time.

"Remind me again, what we're doing?" Piper shouted she fired another stream of crystal ice at the approaching Talon's.

"Fighting to the last man!" Marina shouted back as she kicked one Talon in the chest before spinning around to punch another one out cold.

"Uh huh, I don't think this plan is working!" Piper shouted back.

Marina sighed, knowing that the younger girl was right. _"It's not like we could have done anything else. Surrender is not an option, and neither is calling for help. All we can do is put up as much of a fight as possible and prey for a miracle."_

Hitting a Talon in the head with the hilt of her scimitars, Marina's eyes narrowed. _"But that doesn't mean we don't give up until it comes."_

Jumping into the air and twisting her blades in a figure eight motion, ending with the two blades slamming into each other, Marina let lose another Serpents Strike on the Talons.

Opening his eyes, Kai was surprised to find that he was not on the ground, but actually 'hovering' about two feet above it.

"**What the?"**

"**I do hope that is not your best. Last time that might of worked, but not anymore."**

Looking down, Kai felt his jaw drop.

His attack was meant to bring a quick end to the fight by driving Shadow's head into the ground, and hopefully putting her out 'quickly'. However, she had apparently managed to break one arm free from his hold and used it to break their fall.

The floor was cracked and splintered from the force of the impact, but Shadow's left arm was planted firmly in the ground with an open palm, and holding up both of them even now.

"_Ok, that is a very, very bad thing."_

"**Get off!"** Throwing her legs open and right arm out, Shadow dislodged Kai before pushing off with her left hand and delivered a punishing kick to his torso as she back flipped to the ground.

"**ARGH! You'll pay for that!"** Clutching his chest, Kai pushed himself off the ground and charged the girl before dropping into a double leg sweep, which she dodged by jumping over and countered with a one handed power drive.

Moving out of the way just in time, Kai watched in mix fascination and fear as the small teen girls fist struck the ground with enough force to leave a hand sized hole where it hit up to her wrist.

"_If I hadn't moved, she would have punched right through me like a wet paper bag!"_

Using his arms to launch himself at Shadow, Kai curled into a summersault, then a forward handspring, so that he was flying feet first at her.

"**Why won't you just go down?!"**

Stepping to the side, Shadow growled as she slammed her elbow into Kai's stomach, again knocking the wind out of him and crumpling him to the floor.

"**Be gone pest!"**

Rolling, Kai evaded her stomp and used the opportunity to grab her by the leg and pull her off balance, but was surprised to find that her legs were planed firmly to the ground, and that he had only succeeded in leaving himself open.

"**You are no match for me child!"** Throwing the leg Kai had grasped onto out, Shadow knocked Kai off and several feet back before charging.

"**I'm faster than you!"**

Eyes wide, Kai dropped to his knees from the force of Shadow slamming her elbow into his back.

"_How'd she do that? It's like she vanished!"_

"**I'm stronger than you!"**

Reeling her arm back, Shadow delivered a powered uppercut, sending Kai flying several feet back and into the air.

"**And I'm ten times the fighter you'll ever be!"**

Looking up, all that Kai saw was the back of her leg as it came down and slammed him down from the air into the ground like a human torpedo.

All she could do was watch.

She felt every blow, saw every sight, could smell every sent, and hear every sound.

But the entire time, Shadow was powerless to do anything.

Every time Kai tried to do anything, she would see a time where he had used that particular move before in her mind, and then saw how to counter it, which she would.

No matter how much she screamed, no matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn't respond. The curse had her in its eager hands, and it was not going to let go. Even now it had ceased taunting and tormenting her in favor of simply ignoring her.

"Kai! Run away! Please! Just get away from here!"

Through she cried out, noting came. Her voice was no longer hers to call out, just as her body was no longer hers to control.

All she could do was watch as she brutally attacked a person who had been her friend for several years, a friend that had saved her from herself at one point.

And cry tears that only she could see or hear.

"**I know your every move, I have seen all of your techniques, and I know how to render each and every one of them useless. You have no chance of defeating me!"**

Pushing himself up slowly, Kai spat to the side and wiped his mouth.

"**Correction, you know every move you have **_**seen**_** through her eyes. You have access only to the memories Shadow has!"** Taking a deep breath, Kai stomped his left foot onto the ground before sliding it out several inches, then repeated the process with his right leg, but slid it several inches forward instead of out.

"**Black operations rule number one. Never let anyone see, or know the full extent of your capabilities. Friend, foe, or no con."**

Face twisting into a snarling grin, Shadow laughed.

"**So, you still have some fight left in you? Good, I have a few grudges that I can work out on you from the last time!"**

Charging, Shadow threw a strong haymaker, which Kai dodged by twisting to one side.

Following the haymaker, Shadow threw out a jab, followed by a hook, and a high sweep kick.

Kai deflected each and every punch with the back of his wrist and ducked the kick attack, leaving Shadow off balance and open.

"**Ten times the fighter? In your dreams!"**

Striking Shadow with an open palm in the chest, Kai swept his left leg around without lifting it from the ground and caught the back of her heel, knocking her back slightly and keeping her off balance. Following the sweep, Kai let lose a series of lightning fast jabs and palm thrusts, only stopping the pattern to deflect her counters.

Spinning the other way, Kai finished the kata with reverse elbow thrust to her stomach before continuing the turn to face her and planting one last open palm, knocking her to the ground.

Not waiting to give her time to get up, Kai sprinted the short distance to where she had fallen and threw a one handed overhead smash, which she evaded by rolling. This did not buy her much time however as Kai followed this up with several stomps, ending only when she managed to get to her feet.

"**You never used any of those before, but Starling has! I can still take you down!"**

Jump stepping, Kai pulled back his arm, but at the last second stopped and instead brought his right leg straight up with a Crane kick.

"**You know nothing of me! I know more styles of combat than Staring, Aerrow and you combined!"**

Pulling back on one leg, Kai brought his other still raised one around in a series of quick striking kicks. None of them had much power to them, but they were fast enough that Shadow didn't have time to block, let alone counter.

Stomping his raised leg down, Kai brought his other one around to do a reverse snap kick, knocking her flat on her back.

"Kai! Please stop! It's me Shadow!" She cried out weakly between coughs and gasps.

Pausing for only a second, Kai blinked.

Just long enough to see her grin.

"**Never let your guard down!"** Shadow shouted before vanishing in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear behind him and strike him in the back.

"**I bet you're still hurting from those burns you got, aren't you?"** Shadow mocked with a falsely concerned tone.

"**Lets make them worse!"** Bringing her foot down, Shadow tried to stomp him in the back, but he managed to dodge the blow just in time.

"_Good going bone head. Of course she's going to fight dirty. I just wish I knew what the heck I was dealing with! Is this really Shadow? Or is it something else? If its her dark side taking over, then all I have to do is make her run out of steam, but if she's being controlled like a puppet, then she'll fight to the point of killing herself from exhaustion. What am I supposed to do?!"_

"Get back!" Piper shouted as she slammed her staff into the ground to launch herself at the Talons charging them.

"_I have to keep them as far away from the others as possible. But if I go too far, I'll be cut off. Man this stinks. I wish the others were here right now."_ Piper thought when she landed and swept her staff around to knock the Talons down.

"_Aerrow would know what to do, Junko's strength would REALLY be some help right now, heck, even Finn with his crossbow would be nice. I'd even take Stork! Something, anything! But what do I get? Two hurt girls, an unconscious Sky Knight, a Sky Monkey, a Griffin, me and Marina! This sucks!"_

"_Hey! Don't forget about me!"_ 'New' Piper chipped.

"_Oh yeah, and a voice in my head. So not only is the situation hopeless, but I'm also schizoid, B-E-A-UTIFUL!"_

Hitting a nearby Talon, Piper didn't even notice that the man landed four feet back and didn't get back up.

"_I'm always stuck cleaning up everyone else's mess!"_

Growling, Piper backhanded another Talon, who also landed a few feet back, and like the first, remained out cold.

"WHY CAN'T I EVER GET A FREAKING BREAK IN MY LIFE!? JUST ONCE!" Piper roared before letting lose a chain of strikes that left five more Talons out like a light, and moving on to the next group.

"_Aw, what about me? I've helped you plenty of times in the past!"_ 'New' Piper goaded.

"DON'T START WITH ME! I DON'T NEED ADVICE FROM STUPID VOICE IN MY HEAD TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!"

Several Talon's who had witnessed her knocking out the others became slightly uncomfortable at this point.

A teenage girl, with legs about as thick as most of their arms had just knocked out seven men with seven blows, and now she was talking to herself.

"Great, boss gets to have fun while we fight the escapees from Atmos's loony bin," one of them muttered.

"I'M NOT CRAZY!" Piper shouted before hitting the man with several successive blows, the last of which was an uppercut, witch also knocked him five feet into the air before laying him out cold, though his eyes were open, instead of pupils the word 'Tilt' was seen in both of them.

"WHOSE NEXT! HUH!? WHO WANT'S A PIECE OF THIS!" Piper screamed as she charged the swarm of Talons.

Rondana gapped, while Tigger shook her head.

"She's lost it," Tigger said.

"She's snapped," Rondana added.

"Augh huhhh grrr," Radarr finished. (Translation: They're screwed)

Kai and Shadow charged each other again, launching blow after blow which the other would duck, block or deflect. This continued for several minutes until the situation became very clear to both combatants.

Kai was sore, having difficulty moving, and painting for breath.

Shadow was scowling.

In other words, things were not in Kai's favor at the moment.

"_I can't keep this up, she's just too much. It's like she never gets tired. Does she even breathe?!"_

"Please! Kai, just run away! Forget about me!"

"Why are you sitting there crying? Your friend needs help."

Shadow looked around in the dark void she had been sent to after the curse grew tired of hearing her pleads.

"Whose there?! Show yourself!"

_Patt patt patt _

"Why do you need to see me? Shouldn't it be enough that you can hear me?" The voice asked calmly.

"Last time someone said that, I wound up here! Show yourself!"

The voice chuckled before stepping a few feet closer.

"I'm right here Arabella. Where I've always been."

Looking up in shock, Shadow felt her eyes tear up and her heart clinch.

"No, you can't be here, not now. I can't take this!"

The man frowned before offering his hand to help her up.

"I want to help you, surely you don't think I would," before he could finish, Shadow smacked his hand away and schooched back several times to distance them.

"Get away from me! Your not here! It's just the curse trying to break me even more! I know its you! What's the matter?! Not enough for you to make me feel every time my fist hits him! Not enough that I feel every time I kick him! Or is my hearing his gasps and cry's of pain just not good enough for you!"

The man's eyes softened before he crouched down to her level.

"Look, I know you…hate me…but I want to help you. You're my daughter, its all I've ever wanted to do."

"Liar! I know the curse only lasts for eleven years, eleven years! You've been fighting for Cyclonian way past that length of time. You're not under the curses influence anymore. What you're doing is by your will!"

The man shook his head before sighing.

"That's not true. I am still under the curse, its just…different for me."

Shadow snorted

"Arab"

"Shadow! My name is Shadow! And don't you dare call me anything else!" Shadow seethed.

The man held up his hands to show he understood before continuing.

"Shadow, the curse tried to take me over after…after the fire. I couldn't just leave you then, I had to give you time to grieve, time to have someone there to look after you."

"One year! You call one year time to get over having your mother die in front of your eyes! You left me on her anniversary!"

Not pausing, the man continued.

"I made a deal with the curse. One year's time, in exchange for my willing service. It was all I could do!"

Shadow blinked, and then blinked again before clinching her teeth.

"I don't believe you, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! GET OUT! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!"

The man's eyes narrowed as he rose from his position and walked towards the prone girl.

"Look, I'm running out of patience. There is a lot more at stake here than you could possibly imagine. Time has run out, you can't afford to dilly dally while everything goes to Oblivion in a hand grenade!"

Pushing back to get away from the man, Shadow pushed herself up and started to run as fast as she could.

Cursing under his breath, the red eyed man gave chase.

Catching his arm by the wrist, Marina tossed the Talon over her shoulder before kneeling down and hitting him square in the chest, insuring he would stay down for the rest of the fight.

"They just keep coming and coming! How many are left?" Marina asked herself before deflecting a series of crystal shots back to the crowd of Talons.

As far as she could tell, she was the only one left. The Talons had surrounded her and completely cut her off from the others. All she could see was an endless army of Talons on all sides. She couldn't even hear the others any more. Just the taunts, jeers and insults of the men who surrounded her on all sides.

They charged her, two, three, sometimes four at a time, before being thrown back, knocked out, or otherwise 'neutralized' from the battle, but it didn't seem to matter. They just kept coming, and she was starting to have trouble moving without tripping over unconscious Talon's.

"Out of my way!"

Looking to one side, Marina saw several Talon's get thrown to the side or in the air before the last few crumpled over in pain.

"Marina! Are you ok?!"

Sighing in relief, Marina smiled as Piper rushed towards her.

The two, now standing back to back with their weapons drawn, turned to look the other one last time in the eye before nodding, and charging with a war cry.

"Get off!" Rondana shouted as she tried to free herself from the Talons that were pulling her away.

Griffy and Raddar were doing their best, but with Rondana and Tigger's hands burnt there wasn't much that they could do to fight.

"Let go of me you big ape!" Tigger shouted as she twisted and thrashed to free herself.

"Boss wants you gone, dats what boss gets. Bye bye girly!" One of the Talon's teased.

Narrowing her eyes, Tigger's face changed into a smirk.

"You have any kids?" She asked innocently.

The man stopped for a second.

"Huh? Yeah, a son, why?"

"Good," Tigger replied before throwing her left leg forward, then back in a swift backwards arc.

The result was a loud girlish screech of pain, Tigger being freed, and the Talon dropping like a sack of potatoes.

"_I don't have much time, I hope this works!"_ Tigger thought as she threw herself down beside Starling's still unconscious form.

Rondana, having seen what Tigger did, decided that what was good for the goose was good for the gander.

"Heeeyaaa!"

Another Talon dropped in pain, allowing Rondana to turn and face her other attacker.

"If your kids turn out retarded, just remember it's your fault not mine!" She shouted before driving her knee up and forward into the second Talon.

Several other Talon's who had seen this happen paused before shifting their stances uncomfortably, only to watch in mute horror as the woman continued her assault, delivering three additional 'strikes' to said man before punching him in the gut then running to her friend.

Two of the Talon's turned to each other before holding out and shaking their hands three times.

The first ended with an open palm, the second a fist.

"Dang"

"Guys! Please help me! Anyone!"

"Ara…Shadow! Your friends need you! Why won't you listen to me!"

"Because you're a liar! Everything you've ever said was a lie! I'm not letting you trick me again! You're not my father!" Shadow shouted as she continued running.

The man groaned as he gave chase.

"What do you have to lose in trusting me?"

The girl didn't respond, she just continued running.

"Your friends are in trouble, they need your help!" He tried to reason.

"I'm the one in trouble! I'm the one that needs them! They don't need me!"

"What are you talking about?! Of course they need you!" The man roared.

"Me?! WHAT COULD THEY POSSABLY NEED ME FOR! A DISTRACTION! All I do is sit on the ship and eat their food! I don't fight! That's Kai, Marina, Starling and even Pipers job! I can't fix stuff, that's Tigger! And I know I'm nowhere near Rondana's level in medicine! I'm useless! Kai didn't want me on this mission in the first place! All he sees's me as is a weak little girl that needs to be protected!"

"Did you ever think that maybe THAT'S what you are to him?! Did you ever think that MAYBE that is how you HELP HIM!"

"What are you talking about? How does my being weak help anybody!?"

"You give him a reason to fight! Same with the others! You're their friends; they'd do anything to protect you!"

"Oh so I'm supposed to be the damsel in distress!? That's reassuring!"

The man groaned at her runabout logic. He was trying to show her that she _did_ help them, but all she did was turn it around and throw it back at him.

"_She's been around Kai for far too long,"_ he thought with a sigh.

"Kai! Anyone! Please, help me! Shadow cried out when she tripped and fell onto the hands and knees.

The man, seeing that she wasn't even trying to get up, approached her slowly, feeling more and more guilty by the second.

Especially when he heard her muffled crying.

"Kai, please, help me!_"_ Shadow cried out into the darkness.

"Arabella! Come on, your friend needs you!"

Shaking her head, Shadow choked back her tears to speak. "I need him, I need all of them. I'm too weak; I can't do this by myself!"

"They need you! Come on, no daughter of mine would give up like this! Fight!" The red eyed man shouted before pulling his twin crystal blade free from his back mounted sheath.

"If you won't fight, then I'll make you!" He roared as he lunged at the crying girl.

Not planning on moving, Shadow lowered her head, ready to accept that if the curse was going to finish her off, then it had chosen the perfect form to do it with.

Sneering at Kai, Shadow raised her hand to the air as a wisp of smoke came from her finger tips, before taking the form of her giant broad sword.

"**You should feel honored, you will be the first to fall by this blade in over four thousand years. Fitting, that one who helped seal me away ultimately ended up being the same one to free me, don't you think?"** Shadow asked as she hefted the sword to her shoulder.

Breathing deeply, Kai didn't respond. He was on his knees, and hadn't said a word since he started being 'serious'. He only looked up at Shadow with the barest hint of a smile.

"**I'm still breathing, you haven't won yet."**

Shadow snorted

"**A small problem I am about to rectify,"** Shadow said with a twisted gleeful smile, one that Kai knew didn't belong to the girl he was fighting.

"**You talk too much. No wonder you lost."** Kai taunted.

Her smile switching to a scowl, Shadow slammed her sword on the ground, making the tower again tremble from her sheer strength alone.

"**Farewell pest."**

Lifting the blade so it was pointing straight ahead, Shadow pulled back before charging with the intent of pinning Kai to the wall.

"**SHADOW! WAKE UP!"**

"**SHADOW WAKE UP!"**

Blinking, Shadow felt something cold and hard appear in her hand. Not taking time to see what it was, she lifted it to block her attacker/would be executer.

Green and red sparks lit up the darkness for but a brief moment, illuminating the room, and revealing it to be the tower, but without any lights on.

"_What on Atmos?"_ Looking at the source of the sparks, Shadow couldn't believe her eyes. In her hand, blocking her fathers sword, was her crystal ax.

_Flashback_

"_It's why mechanics try so hard to keep a machine running. We believe it's got a mind of its own. If you treat it good, and you try to save it, one day, it might do the same for you," Tigger said with a smile to her friend._

"_Really? I guess that means this thing will let me die the first chance it gets," Shadow teased._

_Flashback end_

"_Tigger was right."_

Pushing the man back, Shadow dropped into her stance, ready for the next blow.

Instead, she saw the man smirk and sheath his sword.

"Good, you're fighting again. We don't have much time," he said walking away.

"Huh?"

Looking over his shoulder, the man smiled. "I needed to get you back to being yourself. We've only got one chance at this, come on."

"_It's like he said I guess, what do I have to lose?"_ Shrugging her shoulders, but keeping the crystal ax active, Shadow followed the man.

The fight was now going down hill. One of the Talon's had gotten lucky and managed to land a nasty blow to Marina's right arm, making it very difficult for her to keep fighting.

Difficult, not impossible

Since then she had taken another five men down, but she was growing tired, and her injuries were starting to make it very difficult for her to keep going.

Piper was a bit better off, but not by much. With her Amazon strength, and her crystal staff, the young teen had managed to take about twelve more Talon's down, but Marina could see the exhaustion radiating from her in droves. The girl had a lot of potential, but she had never built herself up to this level. She was running on new found strength and adrenalin. Which, while useful in a pinch, had no chance of stemming an entire army on its own.

They needed help, and they needed it soon.

Looking over Marina saw that Piper was being restrained by two Talons' while a third one, armed with a crystal staff charge Piper from behind.

About to call out, Marina was tackled by another two from behind.

Knocking the wind out of the first with an elbow jab, Marina turned to Piper.

"Piper! Behind you!" Marina shouted as she threw the second talon over her shoulder and tried to reach her friend, only to be tackled by several more.

Piper tried to break her captures gripe, but before she could move a searing pain filled her senses, and everything faded to black.

"PIPER!" Marina screamed as she watched her friend fall.

"_There's got to be something I can do! Come on Marina!"_

Feeling several more Talons' land on top of her, Marina groaned in pain, having landed with her arm tucked under her.

Trying to move her hand free, something rough and warm fell out of her top into her hand.

"_What? Oh…my crystal pouch, not like,"_

Marina's eyes flashed as the memory played across her eyes.

_Flashback_

"_Your highness, I…I don't doubt in your judgment, but…please be careful." Naboroou walked towards the younger woman and grabbed her hands in her own._

"_Naboroou, you worry too much." Marina tried to pull back her hands, but was surprised when Naboroou held them tightly._

"_Please, be carful." She said slowly before releasing the ruler's hands. She then pulled up a necklace with a small pouch at the end. Opening it, she stuck in two fingers and pulled out a round orange crystal that was about the size of a quarter._

"_Naboroou, what are?"_

_The older woman cut her off. "This is for you to use. It's not much, but it will let you draw some power from me should you need it." She said holding it out._

_Marina took the small crystal and nearly jumped when she felt something like a static shock hit her._

_Naboroou chuckled. "That was just a bit of overflow, don't worry about it." Naboroou then hugged her friend silently before leaving._

_Marina looked down at the orange crystal and smiled. "Thank you Naboroou."_

_Flashback end_

Tightening her grip around the small leather bag, Marina forced it open with two fingers before fishing the small coin sized crystal out.

"_Naboroou, if you can hear me, please, please give me the strength to help my friends. I don't need much, but I need your strength, mines not enough," _Marina pleaded.

"_Your highness. I'll always lend you my strength. You need but ask, and it is your."_

Marina's eyes widened at hearing her friends voice.

"Naboroou?"

The soreness in her muscles swept away like she had just woken up from a deep sleep, while at the same time, she felt her injured arm heal back to normal, along with all the little nicks, scratches and other wounds she had accumulated during the battle.

"_My strength, my will, my power, all of it, I freely give to you."_

Not realizing what was happening, Marina could feel her muscles stretching, growing larger, and her clothes tighten around her just barely, like they had become a size smaller.

"_Show them what Gerudo are really capable of your Highness."_

Not knowing exactly why, Marina felt a few tears fall from her face as her lips spread into a smile.

"_Thank you Naboroou, thank you my friend."_

Sliding her arm from under her to her side, and her other arm free from one of the Talon's, Marina slammed both fists into the ground and pushed herself up with an explosion of energy.

Tossing the half dozen Talon's on her back ten feet into the air.

"Now it's my turn!" Marina shouted as she slammed the fist containing the Sage Crystal of Spirit into her chest.

White and gold light flashed, before fading.

When it finally disappeared, and Marina could be seen again, several of the Talon's gulps could be heard a fair distance away.

While she hadn't changed much, she had changed.

Her hair was no longer bound together, but was freely flapping and whipping around her face like a nest of angry serpents, as was a gold and orange aura that surrounded her.

The only other thing that had changed was that she no longer wielded her twin scimitars, but instead was holding a very large and very nasty looking double headed pike.

Naboroou's personal weapon.

"Ready for some pay back boys?" Marina shouted before charging the group at full speed.

"Woah! Did you see that?!" Rondana asked in amazement.

Tigger looked over her shoulder, then back down at Starling. "Yeah, nice, cool, whatever."

Rondana looked at her friend in disbelief.

"How can you say that? That was amazing!"

Tigger shot the older teen an annoyed look.

"Have you been paying attention to anything? Kai's done that several times, Piper's tossing guys around like empty soda cans and Shadow shot smoke from her fingers. Then little miss Pinkette shoots a ball of energy through a Cyclonian destroyer AFTER she made a forty foot wing of light and deflected a bunch of cannon fire to protect us. It's kind of hard to find anything amazing or 'super special awesome' with all that going on."

Rondana's shoulders sagged a bit as she realized what Tigger said was true.

"That, and what I'm about to do now makes all that moot."

Rondana raised an eyebrow before gasping as Tigger's hands glowed green.

"What is…but, I thought the Healing Crystal was destroyed?"

Tigger nodded. "Yeah, about that, it's complicated. I'll explain later, look, for now just glare at any Talon's that try to move toward us ok?"

Rondana's expression became deadpan.

"What Talon's?"

Waving her hand out, Tigger followed it and saw her point.

Griffy was chasing several by flight and pecking at them, Radarr was clinging to another's back while whacking him with a wrench, and Marina…

Marina was going though the others like a bull in a china shop.

"Good point," she said before going back to healing Starling.

Just before the sword pierced him, Kai shifted his stance so the sword went under his arm.

"**You are not Shadow!"** Kai shouted as he collected what energy he had left into his left hand and slammed it into her stomach, throwing her into the wall on the opposite side, where she crumpled into a motionless heap.

Dropping to his knees, Kai let out a breath of relief.

"Thank heavens…._huff_….it's…._huff_….over."

"**I wouldn't say that quite yet,"** Shadow said with a grunt as she forced herself up.

"Oh come on! Why won't you just stay down!" Kai whined.

"**If we're finished warming up, I'm ready to fight now,"** Shadow said rolling her neck and rotating her shoulders to crack them.

Kai didn't know if he wanted to scream, to cry, or to do both at the same time.

Holding out her hand, Shadow's sword pulled itself free from the wall behind Kai and returned to her hand.

"**Is this the extent of your power? Pathetic, and to think I looked up to you. You're even weaker than Finn!"**

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Kai pushed himself up to his feet.

"You're one to talk. So weak that you have to use a little girl to fight. At least I fight my own battles!"

Eyes narrowed, Shadow swung her sword over her head in a wide arc before hurling it a Kai with all her strength.

"_Here it comes, come on Kai, you're not finished yet!"_ Forcing what he had left into his legs, Kai jumped over the blade just as it was about to hit/slice his shins.

"I'm not finished yet, not by a long shot!"

Shadow tisked wagging her finger.

"**You never learn your lesson do you?**

Kai chuckled. "Not true, not true at all. See, I have learned one thing about you, one little thing that I know will help me take you down and get my friend back."

"**Oh? And just what might that be?"**

"You talk way too much."

Shadow's eyes widened as a blast of pink energy struck her from behind and slammed her into the opposite wall, right behind Kai.

"You really know how to make an entrance Schaeffer, you know that?" Kai said watching the girl land and close her wings before falling on his backside.

"Oh no, not now. You've still got a job to do, come one Dragon boy," Schaeffer teased as she 'poked' him with her foot.

"Where are we?" Shadow asked, getting tired of being left in the dark. Physically and metaphorically.

"This is your mind Shadow. Right now the curse is clouding it, making it impossible for you to think straight. You are doing everything under your own free will, but your judgment is so fogged up you can't tell left from right. That's why you're attacking your friend," the man explained.

"Ooook, so how does that help me out here? I'm still stuck, and according to Schaeffer my will's just going to get thrown back at me with twice as much strength. How am I supposed to fight that?"

"By making your will three times stronger," a third voice explained.

Turning on her heels, Shadow came fact to face with someone she had never expected to see in life.

Literally

"William?"

The young man smilled. "The one and only."

"But, how, you…your…I mean…you dead!" Shadow shouted poking the man in the torso, half expecting it to go through him.

"Note exactly, but close enough. A part of me is trapped inside the sword, the part of my will that fought it for eleven years."

Shadow threw up her hands.

"Fine whatever. I don't care anymore. This whole thing is so messed up it belongs in a soap opera…or on Dr Phil I swear," Shadow said pinching her nose.

Seeing the puzzled looks on the two men's faces, Shadow groaned.

"Just tell me what to do."

Nodded the two each put a hand on one of her shoulders.

"I'll fight the sword," William explained.

"While I will try to absorb the curse back into me. You just get back into your body and drop the sword as soon as you do ok?"

Nodding, Shadow bit her lip, not knowing what to expect.

"_Piper….Piper wake up! WAKE UP NOW YOU LITTLE BRAT!"_

Piper's eyes flicked open as she growled. "Ok, who woke me up? I was having a _really_ nice dream.

"_Yeah! Aerrow gives good massages!"_ 'New' Piper complained.

"_Wait a minute, it wasn't you?"_ Piper thought in amazement.

"_What! Why in the unholy name of Oblivion would I want you to wake up FROM THAT KIND OF DREAM! It's why I'm alive girlfriend!"_

Piper groaned. "Great, now I've got two voices in my head."

"_Voices? What are you talking about? This is Rose you nitwit! I'm contacting you via telepathy."_

Eyes wide, Piper shook her head.

"_Tela what?!"_

Rose sighed mentally.

"_Look, I'll have Kai explain it later. You, Scarlett, and Lark are the only ones he can do this with that I know of, and no, he doesn't know about it. So can we please get to the important part? My time is almost up and if we don't hurry things are going to get very, vary bad."_

"_Worse than our ship being a flaming wreck, having no supplies and being stuck on a desert terra with an army after us?"_ Piper asked sarcastically.

"_Well, to be fair, the ships not exactly 'flaming' just a wreck."_

The wreckage went up in flames at that very second.

"_Ok, so it is now, but the point is that things are going to get a whole lot worse. You have the detonation crystals still, correct?"_

Feeling the pockets of her pants, Piper gave them a slight squeeze.

"_Yeah, I got them, why? Is everything finished? Marina's holding off the Talon's now, but if those destroyers come after us we're in trouble."_

"_I'm afraid not. Things have taken a turn for the worse. My time is almost up, and I fear the mission will fail again."_

"_Again? What do you mean again?"_ Piper asked.

"_Look, you have to activate the charges. Cyclonia cannot be allowed to get their hands on this tower, at any cost. Do you understand me?"_

Now very confused, Piper tried to figure what was going on.

"_Rose, your not making any sense, what's going on? Where are Shadow Kai and Schaeffer? Did you send her through the portal already?"_

When Piper was met with silence, her thoughts turned morbid.

"_Rose, whats going on? Where are the others?" TELL ME NOW OR I'LL SMASH THE CRYSTALS!"_

"_Look, Piper, you have to understand, the mission comes first. Kai knows this, as does Shadow. If Cyclonia gets a hold of this tower, Free Atmos will lose the war in a matter of days. They will use the transmat system to send their armies behind your lines and into the central terra's."_

"_Where are Kai and Shadow?"_ Piper repeated.

"_And taking control of Atmosia in one fell swoop. Your people will lose, and it will be entirely your fault! Do you understand what I'm saying Piper?"_

Piper shook her head.

"_They're inside the tower aren't they? Aren't they!"_ Piper demanded.

"_You're asking me to kill two of my closest friends? Do you have any idea what Aerrow would do if I told him Shadow died because of me? Or what about Starling? Kai's her apprentice and her oldest friend! She'd skin me alive!"_

"_No they wouldn't Piper. They both understand that in a war, there are costs. Sometimes the cost is life itself. You have to do this Piper. The Cyclonian destroyers are closing in on the tower as we speak. They can not be allowed to take control of it."_

Piper curled herself up as she looked to the sky.

It was true, she could see the destroyers closing in on the tower, and from what little she understood about its function, she knew what would happen.

"_I cant, I can't do it!"_

"_You have to! You're the one with the fuses!"_

"**Not….finished….yet!"**

Kai and Schaeffer turned to see Shadow charging them with her sword raised high and too close to dodge or block.

"Now Shadow! Now!"

Looking up, Shadow saw a white path of light leading off into what looked like empty space appear under her feet.

"If you fall off the side, your friends are goners, just keep going!"

Nodding, Shadow listened to William's orders and charged down the path of light.

"Where do you think your going!"

Looking up, Shadow saw the sword appear above her transform into a copy of herself.

"I'm getting out of here! That's where!" Shadow shouted as she continued to run.

"No you don't! You're going back into your hole!"

The 'sword' Shadow jumped to tackle her, but was caught in mid air by William.

"No you don't! I've kept you here for the last four thousand years, and I'll make sure you stay for the next four thousand too!"

"Thanks William!" Shadow shouted over her shoulder as she continued running.

"**Going somewhere?"**

A black cloud appeared behind her, seemingly erasing the path of light as it moved.

"I'm going to make it, I'm going to make it, I'm going to make it!" Shadow shouted as her speed increased.

"_This is not real, this is my mind. My mind, my world. In my world I don't have to breath, in my world I don't get tired, in my world I'm the fastest thing alive!"_ Shadow mentally screamed as she turned into a green and black blur, keeping just ahead of the cloud, but not opening any distance between them.

"**Very good child, you are the first to ever make it this far since my first host. But even if you regain control, I will be lurking in your mind, in your heart. In those little dark areas, just waiting for your will to falter, for your mind to become the tiniest bit worn, and then, I will have you right back here again!"** The dark and ominous voice called out from inside the cloud asit continued to keep pace with her.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Jumping from in front of her, a figure clad in a red flight suit leapt over top of her and landed inside the cloud.

"You will never again lay a hand on my daughter, not as long as I breathe!"

Looking over her shoulder, Shadow saw the black cloud shrinking, almost like it was being absorbed into the man behind her before disappearing completely.

"Go," he commanded coldly.

Nodding a thank you, Shadow again made a mad dash for the end of the path, a solid white opening in an otherwise pitch black world.

Opening her eyes, Shadow opened her hands immediately as she dropped to her knees.

The only things she heard were a gasp and a loud clang before she passed out.

"I..she freed herself?" Schaeffer said in amazement.

Kai grinned. "Of course she did. She's my little sis. Amazing feats of impossibility are a requirement," Kai joked.

"Sorry to interrupt this little moment, but the Cyclonian destroyers are almost here. Neither of you are in any shape to fight, let alone hold off an armada." Rose said crossly.

"Well, we could use the transmat to," before Schaeffer could finish, Rose cut her off.

"No, not again, it can't take it. Besides that would just put us a square one again. We tried that already remember?" Rose pointed out.

Kai, feeling like he was left out of the loop spoke up.

"Destroy the tower."

"What?" Both Rose and Schaeffer asked in shock.

"You said something about square one, which tells me you have some sort of reset button or something. Why don't we use that and destroy the tower at the same time, while sending Schaeffer through the portal?" Kai asked in annoyance.

"Because that would require timing everything down to the millisecond, which would be like finding a needle in a haystack," Rose answered.

"Look, Schaeffer seems to be…indestructible, immortal, I don't know. But something tells me she could survive the blast, the Cyclonian destroyers would not. The mission will have been successful; the Cyclonian's will be denied another piece of Ancient tech no matter what. At best Schaeffer gets to go home and we all get out of here, at worst the mission continues with two less people."

"That's not your decision to call. Your life might belong to you, but Shadow's does not," Rose reminded him.

"Do it."

Blinking, the three looked down.

"What?"

"I said, do it! Blow this place into the stratosphere if you have to. Kai's right…this time," Shadow said tiredly.

"Ok, but assuming that we can even make this work, how do we set off the charges? Piper has the detonation crystals, and I don't think any of us can warp to her or something."

"Rose, stop being so negative. That's my job. Is there any way we can contact them? Any way at all?"

Schaeffer shook her head, but Rose, after sighing muttered 'yes'

"How?"

"I don't have time to explain it now. But I can contact Piper. What do you want me to tell her?"

Kai thought for a moment before replying.

"Tell her to blow this place to kingdom come."

Rose nodded before going to sit by the wall and lowered her head.

"Ok, Schaeffer, I need you to set up whatever it is you were talking about while I get the crystal ready. We don't have much time, and we only get one shot."

Schaeffer nodded before deploying her wings and rising back to the top again.

"And what are you going to do?" Shadow asked, still on the ground across from Kai.

"I'm going to rest," Kai explained like it was the simplest thing in the world, earning a groan from Shadow.

"Starling? Come on wake up," Rondana pleaded as she shook the older woman. "Tigger, can't you do that…thing again?"

"What thing?"

"The green glowy thingy, do it again," Rondana asked/demanded.

"I cant, it's gone. Whatever was giving me juice to do it is gone now," Tigger replied before adding mentally. _"Hopefully for good this time."_

Marina and Piper made their way back to the others and collapsed tiredly. Marina's glow vanishing into thin air while the Naboroou's lance disintegrated into gold dust, scattering in the wind.

"She up yet?" Marina asked trying to catch her breath.

"No, and I'm worried. It's like she doesn't want to wake up or something. I've never seen this before." Rondana replied in frustration.

"Hey Piper, you alright?"

Said girl jumped at hearing her name called. "Huh? Wha, uh, yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired you know?" She replied quickly.

"What are you doing with the boom stones Piper?" Tigger asked as she pointed at Piper's hands.

"I…nothing. Just holding on to them so I don't lose them," she said swallowing.

"_If you don't do it on my command, you will be the one to blame for thousands of deaths Piper, keep that in mind."_

"_I know, but…how can you make a person do that? It's not right to force that kind of pressure on anyone!"_ Piper fired back.

"_Now you know how Kai feels on every mission. This is the kind of decision a Sky Knight must make on a daily basis, even your Aerrow."_

Piper's face fell at this.

"_I don't think I could ever make that kind of decision. Not in this life time."_

Kai and Shadow both jumped at the sudden explosion outside.

"I think the neighbors are a little upset with us dear," Shadow joked nervously.

Kai raised an eyebrow while at the same time grinning. "Well then what should we do? The hounds or the bees?"

Shadow tapped her chin. "How about the hounds with the bee's in their mouths so you get stung when they bark?"

Kai chuckled, but that stopped when Schaeffer landed before him with a serious expression on her face.

"It's time."

Sighing, Kai tried to get up but found himself unable to on his own.

"You don't have enough energy to restructure the crystal do you?" She asked.

Kai sighed. "No, I'm sorry…I used up almost everything I had left fighting."

"Use mine."

Kai looked back at Shadow.

"What?"

"Jeeze, are you thick headed or just deaf. I said, use mine! I've got lots of energy to spar….even if I can't even move my pinky."

"That wouldn't work, it still wouldn't be enough," Kai said, his expression dropping more and more with each passing burst of cannon fire.

"What about combining all three of ours? I still have half of my reserves left, and at best they are equal to yours," Schaeffer offered.

"Yeah, but half of your power, with hers and the fumes I've got left wouldn't last for longer than ten, fifteen seconds tops. Not much of a window," Kai said with a groan.

"So what? You said it yourself your used to sucky odds. It'd call this a cross between a lemon and Finn's gym socks. Give it a shot. We're dead anyways, might as well give living a go don't you think?" Shadow offered with a small smile.

Kai snorted before grinning. "Thanks Shadow, I needed that."

"No problem, though I'm still going to get you for earlier." Shadow warned with her usual mischievous grin.

"Alright then, let's do this." Kai said throwing his hands out to his sides.

Schaeffer nodded and did likewise while Shadow watched from the ground.

"Shadow, I need you to visualize your energy field ok?" Kai asked as he closed his eyes.

"Huh?"

"Try imagining your energy as a colored cloud that surrounds you. Don't try to force it, just 'see' it ok?" Schaeffer clarified as she too closed her eyes.

Shadow gulped as she saw the black cloud emerge from Kai and once again form into a Dragon. It didn't do anything at first, but then the head turned to look at her and she swore that it snapped its jaws. Schaeffer's once again was a pink and red cloud that only seemed to act like a second skin to her, with its only defining feature being the two white crystal wings.

"_Ok Shadow, you can do this. Remember, don't force it, just let it be."_

Closing her eyes, Shadow tried to feel anything, or see anything, but remembering that she was supposed to 'not force it' she relaxed.

At first nothing happened, but then she felt something warm spread across her skin, like a static discharge. Once, twice, three times it flickered before remaining solid.

Opening her eyes, Shadow saw a dark green mass of energy surrounding her. Because she was lying on the floor, and since she had no mirror on hand, Shadow had no clue what it looked like, other than it had a tail and wings, but the wings were feathered, not scaled.

"Not bad Shadow, it took me a month to do that. You're a natural," Kai complimented.

"You can see it? How? Your eyes are closed?"

Kai chuckled. "My eyes are closed, but my other senses are just fine. Now this is the hard part, I need you to 'force' your energy at me on the count of thee ok?"

"Will it hurt?" Shadow asked nervously.

"You? No. Me? Yes, a lot…..a whole lot," Kai answered.

"But not me?" Shadow asked again, just to make sure.

Kai's eyebrow ticked. "No, you will be fine Shadow, I promise."

"Ok then. Whenever's good," she replied with her normal chipper voice.

"One, two three!"

"_Sic him boy!" _Shadow mentally shouted.

The green mass 'leapt' from her at Kai like a cat and tackled him to the ground before diving into his chest.

To his credit, Kai only cursed a few times, and those were all directed at the 'unusually hard floor' and not at Shadow.

"Is everything set Rose?" Schaeffer asked, ignoring the mutterings from the boy as he rolled onto his stomach and punched the ground a few times.

"Yes, we need to hurry. I haven't much time left. One minute!"

"Ok, the tower is ready. As soon as I'm about to pass through the portal I'll launch the Return program. At that exact same moment you must detonate the explosives. If the tower is still standing when the Return program is complete we'll have to start over again. Do you understand me?" Schaeffer asked with a deadly serious tone of voice.

"Oww I understand I feel like a lion jumped me," Kai wined.

"Oh get over it. Come on, your time to shine, we've all done our part, now you do yours."

Kai nodded before getting up onto his knees and pulling out a Lunar crystal from his vest.

"Here goes everything," Kai muttered.

"Rose, activate the portal now!" Schaeffer called out.

Not even a second passed before several blue sparks shot across the walls, causing Shadow to yelp, but otherwise doing no damage. After the sparks died down a blue 'hole' opened in the middle of the tower, hovering about twenty feet off the ground.

Schaeffer looked down at Kai and saw that the clear whitish crystal was starting to glow a blood red color.

"It's not enough, dang it. I knew this would happen. I can't open a portal on both sides!" Kai shouted.

"It's too late to stop the process, you have to do something!" Schaeffer shouted as the destroyer's fire struck the tower again and again. Sections of wall fell lose, nearly crushing those inside, while raw energy jumped around the inside like a live wire.

"Schaeffer, I've got an idea, you're not going to like it, and it's a bit crazy, but it's your only shot at getting home!" Kai shouted over the explosions and sparks.

"If it has a chance of working, do it!" Shadow shouted from her place on the ground, counting her lucky stars that she hadn't been hit yet.

"Ok, Schaeffer, I need you to get me up to that portal, I can't move when I'm doing this, and for this to work I need to be a lot closer!"

Schaeffer ran to his side, but stopped as a large beam fell between them, landing on Kai and knocking him back.

"Kai!"

"DAAGH! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS ARYGYN! I KNOW IT'S YOUR FAULT!" Kai screamed in pain.

Forming two blades of energy from her hands, Schaeffer sliced the beam into three before kneeling down to the shaking teen.

"Your wound, it's," Kai cut her off.

"No time, we've got to get you out of here!" Kai shouted.

"Kai, I…I'll try to help you as best I can, but I don't think I have enough energy left to…heal that much," Schaeffer said sadly, paying no mind to the tower collapsing around them.

"Let's see what you got princess," Kai said with a grin holding out his hand.

Schaeffer shook her head softly as she pulled him up by the hand before entwining their arms together.

"Try to keep up dragon boy," Schaeffer said grinning as her wings spread out once again, and she reactivated her energy field.

Shadow watched as the two rose into the air, both engulfed in Schaeffer's pink energy field until they were hovering directly in front of the energy field.

"Schaeffer, Rose! Do it NOW!" Kai shouted, opening his eyes, revealing them to be a maelstrom of gold, blue and green.

"Return to the past now!" Schaeffer screamed.

"_Piper! Do it now!"_ Rose shouted.

From afar, Piper rose from her seat facing the tower, as she brought the two crystals out, one in each hand.

"Piper, what's wrong? What are you doing?" Tigger asked, startled by the grief filled expression on her friends face.

Hot tears streaming down her cheeks, Piper slammed the two glowing red crystals together with only a single thought in mind.

"_Aerrow, Starling, please forgive me."_

Light red and black merged into a single reddish purple hued sphere that engulfed the tower, blinding everyone on the terra as the sphere transformed into a column that rose into the heavens.

"Piper, what did you?"

Piper turned back to look at Starling, who had just regained consciousness, and allowed her to see the tears flowing from her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry Starling…please.."

"Piper! Look out!"

Looking over her shoulder, Piper saw the column transform into a wave as it came crashing back down to the terra.

"It's going to hit us!" Marina shouted as she raised a gold energy shield around the others.

The group watched as the wave continued towards them. They knew there was no chance of avoiding it, so what was the point in running?

"_Hm? What's that? It looks almost like a crack?"_

Piper's thoughts ceased, as did everyone else's at the moment. The world went white.

"You call yourself a linguist! You said waterfalls! All I see is rock and sand!" Shadow shouted.

"Hey! I said it mentioned fish! And it does! Not my fault the place dried out and turned into a desert! This book is older than the entire Council put together!" Piper shouted before stopping and looking around her.

"I don't believe it, it..what?"

The hatch opened to reveal Starling, who was clutching her head with both hands.

"What in the name of the Oracle Stone happened?"

"Reset button Star, you know, the little thing I used every time you beat in Ace Combat 35?"

"_Wait a minute, I know that voice, but…that's not possible, he's…he's"_

"So you're the one that taught Finn that trick huh? Good, now I know who to blame for my high scores getting erased!"

"_But, she's they're supposed to be…and we're all."_

"Hey Piper, did you miss us!?" Kai and Shadow asked, both of their heads peaking inside the cockpit at the same time, and both sharing the same wide grin.

End chapter 16

AN: Like I said, don't expect every chapter to be this long, dear lord no (contrary to popular belief, I have more of a life than that lol). But this was special, and I wanted to give myself the chance to 'flesh out' a few of the other characters I haven't written as much for. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that it wasn't too wordy, long or detailed as so have said in the past. Oh, and congratulations, we are now 1/3 of the way through my story map! I promise that the next couple of chapters will be lighter toned, especially the next one since its primarily torturing Kai…make that exclusively torturing Kai.

*Ducks thrown house plant*

Keep it Kai! I'll lock you in a room with Finn and Aladd if you do!"

*…..*

That's what I thought. Anyways, I don't have a title for the next one yet, but I'll have it ready by the end of the week. Sorry it has taken so long to respond/post, but like I said, things have been complicated lately.

Please review, and thank you for reading!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	17. The Price of Perfection!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 17: The Price of Perfection

AN: I'm back! This chapter was a tough one, not because its got lots of battles or tones of emotional dialog (well, it does have quite a bit of that) but because it centers around a concept that gives me a hard time writing, that being time. You'll understand after reading it. I hope this chapter also explains what a few of you have thought to be errors on my part for the last two chapters, and is all around enjoyable. It's time for our crew to grow up a bit more me thinks.

Enjoy!

Also don't forget check out Arashi21's new story: Fighting Wings! Which ties in with the Winds of Change serie, but is told through the eyes of Kestrel, its up to chapter 3 as of last night!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda, or Code Lyoko. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment, Nintendo and Moonscape, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

Time stopped as Piper looked back and forth between Shadow and Kai.

"_But they…I…they're dea.."_

Biting her trembling lip, Piper asked the million gold (they don't use dollars people) question.

"Shadow, Kai….is that…is that really you?"

Kai and Shadow looked at each other, then back to the bluenette.

"Uh, yeah, unless you're looking for someone else with those names, it's us," Kai answered teasingly.

Shadow was about to reply herself, but was prevented from doing so when a blue bolt struck both her and Kai both to the ground.

"I was so…I thought…I mean, I though I had…." Piper didn't say another word, instead she tightened her grip on the two friends she had glomp tackled to the floor.

"Piper, as much as I am enjoying this, I can't breathe!" Kai shouted with a whisper.

"Amazon…strength….crushing…spleen…someone…help!" Shadow squeaked.

It took a second for Piper to understand what they were saying, but when she did she jumped off the two, flushing red.

"I'm sorry! Here let me help you!"

Shadow and Kai both shot her frightened looks before nodding, and accepting her help getting up.

"Aw, such a cute little moment, but WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED!" Rondana shouted from behind the others, startling them.

Kai coughed in his hand before giving a nervous chuckle.

"Uh, a miracle?" He offered.

"Oh no, no, no, no. You know something, and you are telling us what. Don't think I forgot what you said back in the tower. You got some splaining to do boy!" Piper shouted with an accusing finger pointed.

Kai looked to Starling for ANY form of assistance, but only got an apologetic shrug. "You did promise."

Groaning, Kai looked at the map Piper had dropped for a moment.

"Ok, how about this. We head for the NEXT terra, and when we land I will tell you, sound good?"

"WHAT!"

Kai cringed.

"NO WAY! NO! You are not getting out of this. When we get to the next terra you'll just say 'we don't have time for that' and sweep it under the rug," Tigger said, putting her hands on her hips.

Groaning, Kai turned to the girls.

"Ok fine, but we have to get AWAY from this terra soon. I don't want to go through that ordeal with the wasps….again," Kai said with a shudder.

"Again?" Tigger asked. Like the others, she still hadn't figured out what had happened.

"Yes, again. Look, its complicated, just get us away from here. Land somewhere and then we'll talk ok?" Kai pleaded. For once not just trying to get out of answering questions, but actually thinking about something aside from himself.

The safety and preservation of his ship.

"Ok, we'll move, but I'm going to make sure you don't try to run out on us. Starling, you and Rondana keep an eye on him," Tigger said with a grin.

"Hey, who put you in charge?" Kai demanded.

Six pair's of angry eyes silenced the lone male with little more than a gulp.

Five minutes later found Kai pacing around the girls cabin.

Rondana was standing in front of the hatch, while Starling watched from sitting on her bed, offering her friend silent support.

"Did you have to take away my staff?" Kai asked, still upset at the turn of events.

"Yes! We didn't want you making a run for it. Same reason we took your lock picks, slicer blade, skimmer keys, and boots," Rondana replied crossly.

Kai had be pretty upset about most of those, but the boots he felt was unjustified, since the floor was rather cold as he had come to learn since this journey had begun.

"And don't even try complaining about the floor being cold. I told you, if it's too cold, just sit on one of the beds," the irate young woman replied as soon as she saw Kai's mouth open.

"_I could knock her out and hotwire a skimmer….but then Starling would still take me down. DANG IT! Why? Why out of all the Sky Knight's on Atmos did one of the only three that can kick my butt in a fight have to be here?!"_

During the entire time, Rondana had paid close attention to the rooms other two occupants. She knew the reason why Tigger had 'volunteered' herself and Starling, but was disappointed at how the other two were acting.

Starling was obviously feeling upset at seeing her friend in such distress, but for some reason she didn't do anything about it.

"_If she was controlling her reactions, then she wouldn't let her face show what she was thinking. It's almost like she's…lost?"_

Suddenly, everything snapped and collapsed on Rondana like a ton of bricks.

"_HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF!"_

The realization was too much for Rondana. Not only did it make sense and explain quite a bit, but it also threw all of their plans out the window and into the grave.

"_Its not that she doesn't, or that she doesn't know she does. It's that she doesn't know what to do!"_

The entire time Rondana had thought that Starling was just a very good actress, which still being true, was not the case here. Several snippets of previous conversations came together to form a picture in her mind.

An extremely ugly picture.

"_Kai said that they first met when she became his babysitter because she was orphaned and needed the money. If her parents died when she was ten, and she raised herself until she went to the academy when she was sixteen, then she was never taught what to…ARGHH I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! She's older than anyone else here, except maybe Marina, and she never had anyone give her the…."_ Looking up over at Kai, Rondana followed the train of thought straight to its horrible station of realization.

"_And she raised Kai pretty much after he turned five…which means that neither one of them….oh come on, cant someone cut these two some slack? They've been through enough already; they don't need THAT at this age!"_

Before she could slam her head into the wall, Tigger's voice called out over the intercom.

"Ok, we've found a safe place to land. Since I KNOW for a fact that me, Starling and Kai can get the ship fixed in under two days, repairs will start TOMORROW! So don't even think about trying that one Kai!"

Rondana was surprised to see Kai snap his fingers in disappointment and mutter something under his breath.

"Rondana, Starling, make sure the prisone….I mean, please make sure Kai doesn't try anything when we unlock and open the door ok?" Tigger asked from outside.

Rondana smirked as she pointed Kai's own staff at him and motioned to the wall.

"You heard her, hands where I can see them."

With a snort, Kai turned and faced the wall with his hands behind his head.

"Anyone tries to frisk me they wake up next week in my usual spot," Kai replied dryly.

"In your dreams boy," Piper replied with a smirk as she and the others entered.

Chuckling, Kai shot back.

"Hmm not a bad idea actually."

Gaping, Piper was about to 'attempt' a quip when Starling spoke up with a sigh.

"And people wonder why I keep saying that Billy Rex should never be allowed to have kids."

Kai turned and was about to reply when he caught sight of the others faces.

Sighing, the older teen moved to the middle bunk (which happened to be Starling's, though she was now standing with the others) and sat.

"Let's get this over with. I'll try to answer your questions as honestly and to the best of my abilities as I can. But I ask that you respect my privacy, and keep in mind that I know where each and every one of you lives."

"Was that a threat?" Marina asked, slightly amused by the teens frontal act.

Kai shrugged. "Make of it what you want."

Seeing that things were not starting off well, and now having a somewhat better understanding of things, Rondana cleared her throat.

"Very well then, but remember that we are risking our lives out here. We need to know what is going on. We all know that the Council is after you, Piper has…a better idea, and while I know you don't want to talk about it, we have a right to know. We're your friends Kai, for heavens sake, we're not going to sell you out. But if expect us to trust you, you have to trust us first."

The others looked at Rondana strangely, but decided to let her go first, as she did have a point, and was the closest one to him at this point, as they had yet to forgive him for various reasons.

Groaning, Kai laid back to hit his head on the wall behind him.

"What happened to doctor's oath of not causing pain to others?"

"That's only with patients, and stop trying to change the subject please. Something is not right with your story. I might not know everything about your past, but I know for a fact that your bounty can't have anything to do with any of your so called crimes."

Piper, Shadow, Marina and Tigger all looked at Rondana in shock, but the woman's eyes were fixed on the other two, waiting to see their reactions.

Sure enough, there it was, a slight nod, but it came from Kai, not Starling, much to her amazement.

"Time for a history lesson girls," Kai said with about as much energy as a guy on death row.

"Oh come on, we deserve to know Kai! You got to find out about MY issues, fair is fair!" Shadow said, speaking for the first time since arriving.

"That's what I'm getting to. If I didn't explain this first though the rest won't make any sense," Kai defended.

"Oh yeah? Try us?" Piper said confidently.

Shrugging, Kai sat up and crossed his arms.

"Fine. They're after my heart. Happy?"

_Silence_

"Very funny Kai, not quit with bull and get to the horns. What is the Council after? What did you do?"

"Actually, he's…telling the truth I'm afraid."

Everyone turned to look at Starling, whose face now showed a mix of shame and grief.

"Mind running that by me again? They're after his heart? Why? The guys no Casanova," Marina asked in confusion.

"Hey!"

The girls ignored Kai's 'hurt' outburst and continued to focus on Starling.

"Not that heart, his literal heart. Though it's not as important now, not anymore I'm afraid." Starling replied.

"Ok, I'm lost. Someone want to tell me what in the name of Oblivion is going on?" Tigger asked, pushing up her glasses.

"I told you that you wouldn't get it. Look, let's make this as clear as can be alright?" Kai asked as he got up and walked over to Piper's storage trunk.

"Hey! Sit back down! And stop going through my things!" Piper shouted, ready to charge the poor boy.

"Relax Piper, I'm not going to read your diary about your dreams of 'you know who' I just need to borrow…this." Kai said holding up a familiar instrument.

"My crystal scope? Why?" Piper asked, still not happy about the boy going through her stuff, (or knowing about her diary and its contents.)

"To show you this," Kai replied flipping the instrument on and moving it across his chest.

Sure enough, the instrument gave off a weak chirp. About the same as it would with a dead Lunar crystal.

"Ok, that's it. What is going on here? I know your heart is fine. I've done enough X-Rays on it to know. Heck, I've seen it twice trying to stitch you back together. What does this have to do with the Council being after you?" Rondana asked, thinking that Kai was trying to change the subject again.

"I told you that you wouldn't understand. It's really all Rose's fault though if you really want someone to blame."

"Kai, stop going around in circles and tell us what is going on, please?" Shadow pleaded.

Switching the device off before dropping it back into the trunk, Kai fell back onto the bed with a thump.

"My body's not the same as you guys…girls….and I don't mean like that! Piper, Rondana, I tried telling you before, I'm not human, not anymore."

"So then what are you? You look human enough to me," Marina stated.

"Same to you your highness," Kai fired back.

"ENOUGH! Kai, what are you talking about!" Tigger demanded.

"If you want to be specific, I guess you could call me an 'old breed'. But the closest to me now would be the Raptors, though they've changed quite a bit over time," Kai explained.

Rondana's eyes widened.

"_So that's why he distances himself from her….why cant those two just catch a little break?"_

"Before you cut me off, let me explain. I search for, and destroy _dangerous_ Ancient artifacts. Not _all_ Ancient artifacts. It just so happens that most of them fall under that category. For the most part though, and only with very few exceptions, I only destroy things that fall under one of the Unholy Three."

Piper, sensing that something was in the air sat down beside him.

"Unholy Three? What, or, who are they?" She asked curiously.

Holding up his hand, Kai counted off as Starling spoke.

"Hidden, Forbidden, and Holy."

Seeing that the others didn't understand, Kai elaborated. "Things that are Hidden would be military bases, weapons, you know, the bad stuff." Seeing that the others at least grasped what he was talking about, Kai continued. "Forbidden is…a bit difficult to explain, but I believe you ran into it on the desert. Remember the Wasps?"

Piper's eyes widened.

"You mean that…you've come across those things before?"

Kai shook his head. "No, never seen them before, but they fall under that category."

Piper felt herself turn green.

"_Forbidden is right. I can't believe people would ever…."_

"Then Holy would be anything that is religiously linked correct?" Marina asked, beginning to understand the world this young man was coming from.

"Yeah, they're the rarest, but can cause the most trouble since they can…influence people better than any crystal," Kai added tensely.

Marina knew what Kai was talking about, as it reminded her of the 'power' the Sage crystals, as well as the Tri-Force crystals had over her people.

And that wasn't even counting what the crystals could actually _do_, just their mere existence.

"Ok, so what does this have to do with…" Tigger asked, trying to keep the conversation on track.

"The Ancients were very proficient in many things Tigger, but their specialty was war. The 'Forbidden' artifacts are for the most part…living things. Living things that were experimented on for the sake of creating new weapons, Bio Weapons."

Shadow blinked. "Like the Virage?"

Rondana and Starling were the only ones to notice Kai's flinch.

"Especially the Virage," he muttered under his breath before looking back up to continue. "Yes, right on target Shadow. But more importantly, as you all now know, humans weren't the only creatures to live on this planet."

"Oh come on, you couldn't have known that elves were real before meeting Schaeffer," Tigger replied dryly.

Kai smiled sadly. "Actually, I knew that they did exist _at one point_, just not that there was one still living. And their not the only ones. Most mythological creatures have some grain of truth to them," Kai said honestly.

Tigger snorted. "Yeah, like Trolls, Mermaids, and Werewolves."

"Wallops, Aquarians, and Blizzarians," Kai said suddenly.

Everyone stared.

"You're joking right?" Rondana asked.

"No, but their not the same, not anymore. Like I said, humans were not the only species to live on the planet. But because of their warlike nature, many of the other intelligent species avoided contact with them. Or at least they did until the Darkest Day."

Biting her lip, Piper asked a question that had been bugger her for many years, and now saw a chance to get it answered.

"Do you…do you know what happened?"

Kai looked over at the young teen girl with a sad smile.

"Yes, and no. I know what happened that day, I've seen it for myself, but I don't know what caused it."

"What do you mean?" Piper asked confused at how it could be both.

"If she lets me, I can see Rose's memories when I dream. I asked her to let me see what happened that day, and she allowed me to see it once." Kai paused for a second, but Piper saw the look that crossed his face. "I saw…so many people…just disappear forever, so many wiped off the face of the planet, like it was nothing. Every sight, every sound, every sent, every sensation that Rose's host had that day was mine to experience, but her host didn't see what caused it to happen. It's one of the things I've been searching for while out here dungeon diving, what caused the Darkest Day," Kai explained.

"Ok, what does this have to do with what you were talking about earlier? Tigger asked.

"As I said, most of the intelligent species hid themselves from humans, knowing their nature and what would probably happen. But the Darkest Day…it…removed almost nine tenths of the worlds population from the map. Human or otherwise."

Rondana was able to pick up on what Kai was getting at.

"Crossbreeding," she said suddenly understanding what he was getting at.

"What?!"

"You are correct Rondana. Trolls, Mermaids, Werewolves, and Elves might not live any more, but their decedents still do."

Tigger, Marian and Piper could only blink, Starling herself had never heard this and was just as amazed, just better hiding it,

Rondana however, was intrigued.

"But how could that happen? Cross species is impossible, that's a basic science known from grade school."

Kai grinned. "Not always. Remember Odd? He was an Oni, and he had a daughter by a human woman. I think those species came from humans, or were humans that had been changed somehow. Besides, there is plenty of proof, some of it is even here right now," Kai said, his grin growing by the minute.

"Let me guess, you?" Marina asked dully.

To the shock and amazement of everyone present, Kai shook his head.

"Yes, but not what I'm talking about. Shadow, Starling, could you come here for a second?"

The two looked at each other, then to Kai before moving to the center of the room.

Hopping up, Kai walked around so that he was behind them and wrapped one arm around each of their shoulders.

"Notice anything these two have in common? Something that you've seen within..oh…the last two hours?"

Starling and Shadow both looked at the person whose head was perched between their shoulders with raised eyebrows.

"Come on people, use your eyes. What do they have in common?"

"Their both…human?" Piper tried.

"Mostly true, but not entirely. Next!" Kai replied.

"Both are female humans?" Marina tried.

"While true, it has nothing to do with this actually, next!"

"There is nothing else similar about them Kai! Starling is almost four inches taller than Shadow, she's several years older (Starling raised a warning brow at this) they don't even have the same build! Shadow's balanced over all, but Starling's mostly leg. They have no common ground between them other then gender and species!"

"Their eyes."

Kai's grin grew even more.

"Piper got it," Kai said with a sing a song voice.

"What? Oh come on, what does it matter if they both have green eyes? That's so minor that it's," before Tigger could continue, Piper spoke up.

"Schaeffer's eyes are the same shade of green…come to think of it, so's Aerrow's," Piper added.

"Very good Piper, you're on the right track, keep following it. What else do Aerrow, Starling and Shadow have in common?" Kai asked as he let go of the girls and walked back to the bed to sit, while motioning for Starling and Shadow to go back to whatever.

"Aerrow and Starling are both Sky Knights…but Shadow's not…Kai, help me out here, what is it?"

"Meh, you were pretty close there actually. Elves have green eyes as a dominate trait. Any kids they have, and any kids those kids have, and so on will always have green eyes. It's their blood mark."

"Wait a minute, are you trying to say that I'm an elf?" Shadow asked, unconsciously reaching up to touch her ears.

"Not quite, but your mom or dad was the descendent of one. The gene pools so diluted though that you have normal human ears, but the eyes, and the _power_ remains with you."

Everyone's eyes widened at this.

"Your telling me, that every Sky Knight is!....wait a second, what about Harrier? His eyes are blue, and he still has a signature move?" Piper pointed out, remembering the life size poster she had of Harrier when she was little.

Kai's face spread into the widest grin that any of them had ever seen, including Starling, who had watched, and been part of the greatest defeat the Interceptors had ever faced, all from Kai and a deck of cards one rainy Saturday.

"Harrier has blue eyes and blond hair, sound familiar?" Kai asked happily.

"Blond hair and blue eyes? Werewolves had blue eyes if my memory is right, but not blond hair. The only mythical creature I know of that had blond hair was…" Piper's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets as she fell to the ground, shaking with laughter.

"Piper? What's going on? What is it?" Shadow asked, worried about her squad mate.

"Harrier is…he's..AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Harrier's a what? A pain in the?"

"Shadow!"

The young girl rolled her eyes at Kai before looking back at Piper.

"HARRIER'S A MERMAID!"

Eyes wide (again) everyone looked to Kai for confirmation.

Grinning like a mad man, Kai nodded. "Merman technically, he's a descendent, not one itself, that would be the Aquarians who are the closest," Kai clarified.

Now everyone had various images in their mind, some funny others scary, but all resulting in deep laughter, all aside from Marina who had never met the man.

The laughter continued until Tigger remembered the point of all that.

"But what about you? What do you have to do with the Raptors?"

Frowning, Kai was about to respond when someone else decided to cut in.

"That would be my doing I'm afraid."

The room's seven inhabitants looked to see an eight standing before them.

"Rose? What are you talking about?" Piper asked, feeling oddly comforted by the woman's presence.

"Just as with the other species who joined with humans due to their small numbers, Dragons too intermingled with humans at one point."

"Ok, there is no way that could have happened. Dragons are cold blooded rept," before Rondana could finish, Rose cut her off with a hiss.

"We are NOT cold blooded, we are warm blooded. Just because we lay eggs does not make us completely different. There are mammals that do so as well, and you know it." Seeing that she had the others attention, she continued.

"Just as the Elves and the Oni, we Dragons have the ability to manipulate energy to alter our appearance at will. As time passed, our kin adapted to their surroundings and became the creatures you know as Raptors, though there were several exceptions. There are some who walk the Atmos now who carry diluted Dragon's blood. Just as the descendents of Elves can hear the Song of Wind, these people can hear the Dragons Cry."

"Dragon's Cry?" Starling asked, having heard Kai mention the phrase once or twice, but never explain it before.

"Yes Starling, the Dragon's Cry. Tell me, have you ever heard anything when using you special move? Or when you saw Aerrow use the Lightning Claw? Even Suzi when she uses Diamond Dust?"

Everyone looked around, but only Shadow and Starling seemed to give it any deep thought.

"I've heard something in the past, but it never sounded more than maybe a breeze or the wind blowing," Shadow offered.

Starling however narrowed her eyes.

"At first I only heard the wind, but for the last few months I found myself hearing a woman singing, but I can't make out the words."

Rose nodded before speaking. "That would be the Song of the Wind that you are hearing. As your powers increase, the song will become clearer. When you can hear the song in its entirety it means you have reached the limit of you affinity."

"So that's what the song I heard in the cave was? Schaeffer using her powers right?" Shadow asked, putting the pieces together in her mind.

Smilling, Rose nodded.

"Hold on, I never heard any singing when Aerrow, Starling or Suzi used their moves, but I know that I heard something back at the Arena, and again at the Phoenix Den with Kai, what was that?"

Rose's warm gentle smile became slightly mischievous at this point.

"Think about it Piper, you're a bright girl."

Shadow's eyes lit up.

"The Dragon's Cry! Piper! You have Dragon's blood!"

"Is that true? Kai, do I have Dragon's blood?"

Piper was surprised to see the teen blink in surprise.

"I…didn't know that actually…oh what, you think I know everything? I'm not a magic eight ball," he said crossing his arms in defense.

"You are correct child. You are one of the Dragon born. Though there is only one other that I know of, that being Scarlett."

"SCAR'S A DRAGON!"

Rose rolled her eyes.

"No, she has Dragon's blood in her veins, same as you. She's not a Dragon, there is a difference. The blood mark is the same as the Elves. Didn't you think it strange how few _humans_ have orange or gold colored eyes?" Rose asked with a bored tone.

"So that's what you meant when you said you could contact me, Scar and…wait a sec, that doesn't explain how Kai is able to speak with Lark?" Piper said, not thinking before speaking.

"WHAT!"

Kai and Rose both cringed while shooting Piper annoyed glares.

"You're in contact with Lark! Whose side are you on?!" Marina asked as her hands went to her hilts.

"I'm on your side! Come down!" Kai shouted.

"I think you had better explain this very carefully Kai," Starling demanded.

Watching closely, Rondana saw the flash of hurt pass through the boy's eyes before he spoke. Knowing that even though Starling's tone wasn't exactly without cause or warrant, the boy felt like she had stabbed him in the back.

"_He actually thought she wouldn't be upset by finding out something like that? The only reason he would think like that would be if he…"_Rondana shook her head to clear the thought. Now was not the time.

"Kai, perhaps you should allow me to explain this?" Rose offered.

Nodding, the boy pinched the bridge of his nose and seemed to be going deep into thought over something.

"Five years ago, Starling led a scouting mission to terra Ulara. And before anyone says anything, no, it is not a myth, it exists. It has been my home for the last two thousand years, so I know it to be so. Now, as I was saying, the Council was afraid that Cyclonia was going to launch an offensive at the time, and wanted to have every option available to them. So after searching through the archives they found what they were looking for. A crystal with power comparable to the Aurora stone."

Rose smirked at Starling's shocked expression.

"Oh yes, we found the mission report Starling. Kai required a specific map from the archives many moons ago, and while there, decided to see what else he could find. The result was the document Arygyn showed you on terra Deep, as well as the sealed mission report. Operation Black Light, am I correct?"

Everyone turned to Starling in confusion.

"Starling? What is she talking about?" Piper asked in a worried tone.

Sighing, Starling looked up at the others with a sad expression before speaking.

"The Council wanted to insure victory from the outset of the war. At first they wanted to use the Aurora stone, but they knew that the people would never allow it, as the Aurora stone is the symbol of Free Atmos, and is known to be the most powerful crystal ever discovered. To use the crystal of light in war would in the eyes of the people, make them no better than Master Cyclonis."

"So…they sought an alternate, a crystal that was just as powerful, but that nobody knew about," Piper said in a hushed, horrified whisper.

Starling nodded sadly.. "We knew what would happen if the Council found it, which is why we decided to destroy the crystal if we found it, and report that what we found was either a destroyed building with nothing, or we were unable to find anything at all."

"But something happened, right?" Marina asked at seeing Starling's expression.

Nodding, the woman continued. "We were ambushed. Dark Ace and a squadron of ace talons captured my squadron while myself and Kai were searching the area."

Everyone looked at Kai with questioning faces, prompting him to explain. "I managed to talk my way in to her letting me tag along. She didn't think the myths were true, so she let me. If she knew half of what would happen, I'd been stuck cleaning the base again."

"I tried to fight them myself, but I didn't know Dark Ace was present at the time. I managed to hold him off, but I can't fight him and a squadron of Lark's personal guard at the same time. I was…incapacitated. When I came to, several Sky Knight Squadrons had come to our aid and freed us. Something, I'm still not sure what exactly, led me through the temple where I found Kai and Lark battling. I never found out exactly what happened while I was unconscious though," Starling added the last bit thoughtfully.

"What happened was simple. My current host saw what was happening, but was in no condition to do anything about it. Her time was nearly up and she was actually going to look for her replacement at the time. She evidently found Kai and led him to my temple, which turned out to be a very good thing," Rose explained.

"Depends on your point of view," Starling muttered, though only Rose was able to hear it.

"Apparently, Lark had found an ancient artifact known as a Siphon crystal. It allows a person without energy capabilities to draw crystal energy from crystals, or individuals. Her intent was to drain my crystal and claim my powers for herself."

"Woah, that would have been pretty bad huh? Could you imagine Lark with all of Kai's powers? Good thing he was there huh?" Shadow said cheerfully, trying to break the room's tension.

"Shadow, Lark _did_ succeed for the most part. I…failed to stop her," Kai said with a defeated tone.

"What are talking about? You stopped her, that's why you got the crystal and powers, and she doesn't. You saved your friends, and everything turned out ok right?"

Starling, Piper and Rose all looked away, knowing things were about to turn ugly. Later, everyone present would compare the next five minutes with being trapped inside of a blasting furnace.

"I FAILED SHADOW! FAILED! Lark had already absorbed three fourths of the Shadow crystal's power _before_ I got there. Where did you think all her powers came from? Have you ever even fought her before?!" Kai demanded.

"Kai, calm down," Starling pleaded.

"NO! Don't you guys get it!? IT'S ALL MY FAULT! If I had been just a little faster, if I had been just a little stronger, things wouldn't be as bad as they are! The Blizzarians wouldn't have been forced from their homes! Free Atmos wouldn't be struggling just to survive! If I had been just a little stronger, THE INTERCEPTORS WOULD STILL BE ALIVE AND THE NIGHTMARE OF MESSA WOULD NEVER OF HAPPENED!" Kai shouted in rage.

The others, still to stunned to speak could only listen as Kai continued.

"Lark has three times as much power as I do, THREE TIMES! She just doesn't know how to tap it correctly or for long periods of time. Star, you saw her deflect Aerrow's Lightning Claw yourself, so you know what I'm talking about. Her ability to fly, change a crystals structure at will, their all because of ME! Heck, where do you think the knowledge of all those horrible inventions came from?! Their Rose's memories, which SHE STOLE! It's why I work so hard, to prevent it from happening again!"

About to go into another triad, everyone was shocked to see Starling rise from her spot, march in front of Kai, and slowly raise her arm.

_Slap_

Head still turned away, Kai spoke. "It's all my fault Star…Suzi's father, the Blizzarian's home terra, the Interceptors, MESSA!"

"Kai! Listen to yourself! You're not to blame for what happened! Is this what you've kept from me for the last five years? Is this why you've been trying to kill yourself? Trying to _atone_ for their deaths?" Starling demanded.

"I'm…trying…to make sure it never happens again Star."

"Cut it out Kai. I know you, I've known you since before you could even spell my name, don't lie to me!" Starling hissed. "You're trying to get yourself killed, but you're trying to do it in a way that will make it look like your helping others."

Everyone else watched the exchange in silence. This was one can of worms nobody could have predicted being opened.

"You are not to blame Kai, Let It Go!"

"IT IS MY FAULT! HAVEN'T YOU LISTEND TO A WORD I SAID! Lark has access to thousands of years worth of weapons designs, thousands of years worth of military strategy and political experience. All her plans, each and every one of her success are because I was too slow and weak to stop her in time." Kai said, his tone getting softer with each syllable.

"Yes Kai, you are right."

Everyone turned to Piper in shock.

"Because you, a FOURTEEN year old boy, lost, alone, and on an unknown terra, hiding from THE DARK ACE and a SQUADRON of ROYAL BODYGUARDS failed to take down a thirteen year old girl who had been trained by TWO Sky Knights since she was FIVE, you are to blame for everything that's happened since." Piper snarled.

"She's right Kai, you aren't to blame for this. How could you have known? I'm sure that you tried your best," Rondana offered calmly.

"It happened, when I could have stopped it…it's still my fault, my burden to bear, and my mistake to fix," Kai said, still not believing them.

"Ok, let's change topics now. What does this have to do with the Council?" Tigger asked, feeling horrible for bringing all this about.

"The Council needed an escape goat to pin the blame on, so they picked me. Starling and the other Interceptors were too well known, and of too much value at the time, but I was nothing, and I still had the Shadow crystal. Weakened or not, they still want it, along with the Serpendry crystal that is forming inside me."

"Ok, now that I don't get. How can your heart be a crystal?" Marina asked, finally finding something she was interested in.

"It isn't, at least not yet. While most crystal's are naturally forming, the more powerful ones are either Soul crystals, which trap creatures or beings, like the Shadow crystal did Rose, or the Oracle crystal did, or they form from a creatures heart. Serpendry crystals are from Dragons, Fathom crystals come from Leviathan, Hanzo crystal's are from Tangu, so on and so forth," Kai explained.

"Ok, but…how?" Marina asked, still not getting it.

"The heart, like the rest of the body is composed of minerals. After the creature dies and all the water from the heart evaporates, the remaining minerals condense into a crystal of great power, usually ten times greater than a high level strike crystal," Kai further explained.

"But you said that the Council doesn't need you anymore, why would that be?" Piper asked, remembering their prior conversations into Kai's past.

At this Kai's shoulders sagged.

"They wanted me for the Serpendry crystal because Raptors are too far evolved from Dragon kin to make them anymore. I _was_ the last source of Serpendry in all of Atmos….but now…I'm not."

The others looked from one another trying to decipher the cryptic message, but Kai knew that only one person in the room had all the pieces to do so.

"Rinjiin," Piper said softly.

Kai nodded sadly.

"Rinjiin? Who is Rinjiin?" Starling asked.

"I thought all the Sky Knights knew? It's why they…or dear God…we…" Piper's eyes became wide as she turned to Kai with a fearful look, which much to her dismay, he nodded sadly to confirm.

"Piper? Piper? What's going on?"

Moving over to the bed Kai was sitting on, the young teen pulled up her legs close to her chest and started shaking. The others were able to make out some sniffling sounds, and figured out that she was crying.

"It's all my fault," Piper said as her body started to spasm.

"_Godo grief Kai, is your guilt contagious or something?"_ Rondana wondered.

"Piper! Not you too!" Tigger pleaded.

"But it's true! The Council renewing Kai's bounty, them no longer having any need for Starling, it's my fault!" Piper cried out.

"Jeeze whats wrong with you people? Piper, could you please tell me what in Naru's name you're talking about?" Marina asked her friend, slightly worried about everything that was going on.

Choking back the tears, Piper looked up and swallowed.

"Ab..abo…about a year ago…we..we were swept up by a storm…it…it blew us all the way to Sky's Edge..and…we were attacked by a Dragon." Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Piper continued. "Only it wasn't a real Dragon, it was a ship made to look like one. The ship belonged to a man named Rinjiin, who claimed to be the last Dragon Knight. He…he had…a clutch of young Dragons that he was protecting at the time…"

"What does that have to do with?" Before Tigger could finish, Rondana made the connection.

"The Council was after Kai because at the time he was the only known source of Serpindry on Atmos, but after you guys found the clutch of young Dragons, Kai was…"

"No longer needed, and thus expendable," Kai finished darkly.

"It was my idea to get the Sky Knights to help take care of them, so of course we went through the Council to get their help," Piper said before breaking into a fresh bout of tears.

"Look, Piper, I don't blame you. You had no idea of knowing how bad the Council really was back then. My bad luck's as much to blame for this as your innocence at the time," Kai said, trying to cheer the girl up a bit.

"So…you're….pretty much…." Shadow asked sadly.

Kai looked up and Shadow with a face completely devoid of any emotion, but she was able to see the cold fire burning in his eyes.

"I'm rubbish, immaterial. No longer needed for the Council to continue their goals but too much of a loose cannon for them to ignore. I know too much and I'm not under their thumb to control, so I must be…dealt with accordingly."

_Silance_

"Now you see why I didn't want to drag any of you into this mess? Why I don't accept help unless I have no other choice? I'm branded as a traitor, and anyone who helps me will have the same mark against them, meaning that you would have to live a life on the run, or face the Council's punishment for treason."

Again, the room was filled with silence, until Shadow spoke up.

"What is the Council's punishment for treason?"

Nobody wanted to answer it, so the one person who had nothing to gain or lose did.

Rose

"As the Council operates under Maritime regulations, it would be the same as if someone committed treason as a member of the Navy, which would be…death….by the gallows."

Shadow's eyes widened.

"They can't pin that on you! It's not even your fault!" Shadow shouted in both anger and alarm.

"They can, they will, and they have tried. Why do you think I only go to Rondana for treatment? It's because she and Jim don't keep medical records. That way they can't be punished for helping me. It's why I live alone, it's why I work alone, and it's why the Murks, along with every other outlaw on Atmos trusts me, because they know I wont turn them in, cause I'm in the same boat they are."

As they listened, each of the girls reacted differently. Tigger felt terrible for opening so many deep wounds in someone that considered her a friend, while Piper on the other hand was trying to find a way to undo the damage she had caused. Marina was the only person to actually become angry out of them, as she was able to recall the calm, almost caring masks that the Council wore when negotiating with her and the League. She made a mental note to be much less forgiving and a great deal more demanding in future dealings with the old men.

The other three however were in varying points of worry over their friend.

Shadow now knew beyond a doubt that her so called 'brother' was indeed such. Maybe not by blood, but they had enough similarities to overlook that at this point. She was also worried because now she knew full well how cold and petty the Council could be. As scary as what she had learned today was, the thought that at any time _she_ could be in Kai's shoes frightened her even more.

Starling, now at last having the complete picture was a mess. She didn't know if she wanted to slap Kai again, or to hold him tightly begging for his forgiveness.

"_If only I hadn't taken him that day. Stupid Starling! Stupid! What were you thinking!? You knew the rules, you knew the regulations! This is the cost for breaking them!"_

While all this was happening, Rondana watched the others expressions, trying to gauge how they were taking the news. It had been a bit of a shock to her, but since she had faced similar issues in her life, it didn't take as long to get over the shock. She was more interested in how this development would affect the others.

One in particular.

Starling

She knew that the woman could make or break both this mission, and the boy.

"I have a question."

Everyone looked up at Rondana, surprised at how little all this seemed to faze her.

"Well, two really. First, what happened back at Rocky Falls? The ships calendar says that today is three days ago, and I know you change the calendar every morning, so it can't be that you forgot."

Kai of course groaned before speaking.

"And what's the second question?"

Rondana smirked.

"Why did you give yourself a pink stripe?"

Kai's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Walking over to her bunk, Rondana pulled out the same mirror she had used to let Kai see Starling while he was on the floor, and held it up to him.

"You've got a pink stripe about an inch wide on your left side," she said innocently.

Grabbing the mirror and holding it to the side, Kai's eyes widened before he let lose a roar of anger.

"THAT BLASTED ELF! WHY COULDN'T SHE JUST LET ME GO IN PIECE!"

The other's, now curious gathered around.

"She's right, you do have a pink strip…Kai…are you..uh…do you like."

Glaring at Shadow, Kai snorted. "I did not do this to myself, its Schaeffer's fault."

"It's Schaeffer's fault you have a pink," Kai cut Tigger off.

"It's not pink ok, it's just…lightish red," Kai defended.

"You know, back on Gerudo, we have a word for that," Marina said with a smirk.

"Really? What is it?" Kai asked hopefully.

Marina's smirk grew wider.

"We call it, pink," Marina replied before chuckling. The others of course found it to be pretty funny as well and joined her in laughing.

Now red as a tomato, Kai was about to let lose a 'fiery Dragon's tongue' when something stopped him. The other's just continued laughing; with only one person noticing that Kai was holding back his 'displeasure' and its reason.

"Great, now I need a dye job too. Blasted elf," Kai mutered.

"Why don't you just use a Chroma crystal?" Piper suggested.

At this Kai's shoulders slumped even further, and Starling broke into another fit of laughs.

"Kai can't use Chroma, they…don't help him blend in very well," she explained.

Seeing that the others didn't understand, Kai held out his hand.

"Anybody got one on them?" He asked exasperated.

Piper, now recovered from the 'pink stripe' nodded and went to her foot locker.

"Here, you can use mine," she said holding it out to him.

"You know how a Chroma works right?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, it changes your hair color," Piper answered as if it were common knowledge.

Kai shook his head. "It changes your hair color to match your elemental affinity. Aerrow's is lightning, so his turns light blue, get it?"

The others, though not quite understanding the part about affinities, had all seen Aerrow use the Lightning Claw at one time or another, and Piper herself had seen him use a Chroma, so she got the jest of it. So they all nodded.

"Well…I….don't…have one…not naturally anyway, so they…well, it's easier just to show you," Kai said with a groan as he took the Chroma from Piper's hand.

The effect was instant, and was met with gapping jaws.

Kai's midnight black hair was now a bright, snowy white, with an even more noticeable pink stripe still in the exact same place.

Piper tried to look away as she held in her laughs, as did most of the others.

The only exception was Shadow and Tigger who had burst out laughing at their poor friend.

"Glad you find it funny, I'll remember what to give you next month," Kai threatened, but his tone held no malice to it, more like he was trying to cover what was left of his pride.

Putting the crystal down, Kai took a deep breath. "As for the calendar Rondana, your right, and so is it. Today is the day we landed on Rocky Falls, today is three days ago."

That stopped the laughs cold.

"That's impossible! Time travel can't be done, and even if it could be we would see ourselves from right now, creating a paradox," Tigger said in confusion.

"I told you it was complicated. Schaeffer's tower was equipped with a telaporter system that could do much more than transfer matter to another place. It could send energy, or, in our case, memories back in time."

Piper, trying to digest all this looked up with a fearful expression. "So then…that means…I…I killed you and Shadow?"

Kai nodded. "Yes, you did, but it had to be done. The tower had to be destroyed Piper. You did what any Sky Knight would do. You followed your orders and did what was in the better interest of the majority, for that, I thank you."

"Hold the phone! If Piper killed you and Shadow in the explosion, how are you here now?" Tigger asked before gasping. "The tower! We still have to destroy it!"

Kai chuckled. "Relax; it's all taken care of. As for me and Shadow, Piper didn't kill us; she killed the us from three days from now, which no longer exists. So in essence, she didn't do anything to us," Kai said with a smile, trying to reassure the young teen that everything was ok.

"I have a headache," Shadow complained with a moan.

"Look, I'll try to make this as simple as possible. The tower transported our memories, our thoughts, and our feelings, everything that makes us, us, from then, to three days earlier, which is now. These are our bodies from three days ago, with our memories from three days from now, get it?"

The others scratched their heads.

"No?" Shadow said cringing.

"No you don't understand it, or no it's not simple enough?" Kai asked blankly.

"No means we trust you," Starling clarified, resulting in the others nodding in agreement.

"But if this is three days ago, then wouldn't that mean that the tower needs to be destroyed still? It's still standing right?" Marina asked, hating this whole time loop thing.

"_How on Atmos did Link ever get used to this?"_ She wondered in the back of her mind.

"I'll take over, if you don't mind that is," Rose offered from the back of the room, causing Shadow and Tigger to jump.

"Stop doing that!"

"What? I never went anywhere. It's not my fault you forgot about me," Rose said with an almost too innocent look on her face.

"Go ahead, I'm too tired to go on any more," Kai said collapsing on his side onto the pillow.

Clearing her throat, Rose looked towards Kai. 'This matter is especially important to you, unless you forgot about what happened during the fight with Shadow."

Several seconds passed before Kai sat up like he had been pricked with a needle.

"You mean when she was trying to knock my head off with that giant slab of metal some idiot called a sword?" Kai asked.

Rose smirked while a darkness crept over Shadow's face, hiding it under her hairline.

"This may come as a bit of a shock to you, but this was not your first journey to Rocky Falls, nor was it the first time you met Schaeffer. And no, I am not just referring to Kai, I am referring to all of you," Rose said firmly.

"I ask that you please wait until I am finished before asking any questions, as I believe it will explain everything quite a bit if you hear me out." Seeing that everyone, including Kai was silent, she continued.

"We first arrived on this terra several months ago, though none of you would remember it as being any different than three days ago, because it was the same. The Cyclonian's attacked, and Shadow was…taken over and controlled by the terra's curse." Rose was careful to keep things from being too specific, just the basics here. It was not her place to explain the curse Shadow carried; just that she was taken over.

"That first time…, Kai set off the charges to the tower, destroying everything on the terra except for myself and Schaeffer."

Everyone turned to Kai with gaping expressions of fear.

"To be fair on Kai's part, he was the only one left at the time. He tried to save you to the best of his abilities, but there were just too many of them. We were overrun, and defeated," Rose said solemnly. "Kai would never, under any circumstances harm any one of you as long as he is in control, remember that."

Everyone was still shocked by the recent turn of events, so much so that they could only continue listening to Rose as she spoke.

"After several weeks, Schaeffer and I devised a way of altering this, by sending our memories back to before the point of us reaching the terra, and trying to change the outcome."

"But if that is true, why didn't you tell us before Rose? I could have come up with something better," Kai asked with an edgy tone.

"I would have if I could have Kai, but the process didn't transfer all of our memories, and it took up so much of my energy that I had to rest for awhile before I could even make contact with you."

"So…the reason Kai's powers are so unstable now, is because you've been using them to reset time, and drained them?" Marina asked out of curiosity.

"Somewhat, but I had no idea that frequent use of them would have that affect until after Arygyn informed all of us at the Phoenix Den. It had never been a problem before, but none of my past hosts used them as much as Kai does, nor had my crystal ever been tampered with as Lark did five years ago. We were careful to only use just enough since my powers do regenerate, but Schaeffer's no longer can. That's why she didn't use them as much as she wanted to in the fights."

"Fights? So you sent us back more than once?" Kai asked, suddenly remembering little bits and pieces from his fight with Shadow.

**Flashback flash**

"**It's nothing personal Shadow, but I can let you win!"** Kai shouted as he switched holds and pulled her arms around so that he was behind her.

"**I will not allow you to defeat me again Kai!"**

For a brief moment, Kai's eyes jumped, but he did not release his hold. Feeling Shadow pull her arms open, he knew that she would quickly break his hold at this rate.

Opening his eyes, Kai was surprised to find that he was not on the ground, but actually 'hovering' about two feet above it.

"**What the?"**

"**I do hope that is not your best. Last time that might of worked, but not anymore."**

Face twisting into a snarling grin, Shadow laughed.

"**So, you still have some fight left in you? Good, I have a few grudges that I can work out on you from the last time!"**

"**You never used any of those before, but Starling has! I can still take you down!"**

"**You should feel honored, you will be the first to fall by this blade in over four thousand years. Fitting, that one who helped seal me away ultimately ended up being the same one to free me, don't you think?"** Shadow asked as she hefted the sword to her shoulder.

**Flashback flash end**

"_So that's what she meant. I thought she was confusing me with someone else,"_ Kai thought before looking up. "How many times did you use it?"

Rose let out a deep sigh.

"Three times before the final attempt. So four in total. The first one was of my own choice, but the other two aside from the final one were all your doing," Rose answered with a frown.

"What?! Why would Kai make three return trips and not remember anything?" Tigger asked. _"Just when I think I'm starting to catch up to things, she throws that out there?!"_

"Kai initiated the second and third return trips because…the outcome was…unacceptable to him. After finding out about the return program, he used it to reset everything so that he would have another chance. The reason he doesn't remember them however, is because I took the memories to shield him from them. He would have been unable to function properly if plagued by those thoughts and memories, so I did it to insure the success of the mission," Rose stated simply.

"You had no right to tamper with my memories!" Kai shouted in anger.

"Oh believe me; you should be thanking me, not yelling at me. I doubt you would ever sleep another night in your lifetime if I hadn't. Keep in mind, you are MY vassal, I am not YOUR tool child."

"Ok, so I take it something bad happened right?" Rondana asked, trying to cool things off.

"Yes, Rondana, something bad did happen. Though Kai survived the second and third attempts, not everyone else did. Kai refused to allow a single one of you to die, unless it was himself, which the final time almost turned out actually."

"What do you mean?" Starling asked, shooting Kai a look he couldn't quite place.

"What I mean is, that pink stripe is the only reason he's alive right now. Each time we reset the clock, the curse became stronger, making Shadow even more powerful than the previous attempt. That was our last shot. Whatever happened was the way it would be."

Seeing that the others didn't understand, Rose continued. "Kai used up so much energy fighting Shadow, that he was hardly able to move. As a result, a large I beam fell on him, and nearly crushed him. He was dead set on making sure Schaeffer made it home however, and used his energy to open the portal rather than heal himself. So Schaeffer gave what little power she had left to him so he would survive the return trip," Rose explained.

Kai lowered his head as the memory played across his mind for the thousandth time.

**Flashback**

Forming two blades of energy from her hands, Schaeffer sliced the beam into three before kneeling down to the shaking teen.

"Your wound, it's," Kai cut her off.

"No time, we've got to get you out of here!" Kai shouted.

"Kai, I…I'll try to help you as best I can, but I don't think I have enough energy left to…heal that much," Schaeffer said sadly, paying no mind to the tower collapsing around them.

**Flashback end**

"Since the tower was destroyed after the return program was launched, but before the tower itself was scanned, it was lost in the time stream and could not be reformatted. That is why we do not have to worry about destroying it again, as it simply ceased to exist within time," she added.

As everyone tried to absorb this information, Rose disappeared into thin air, leaving the crew of seven alone with their thoughts, trying to figure out where to go from here.

End chapter 17

AN: So? How was it? I've been itching to get this out, but I can only type so fast. I wish my muse would type for me, as this story would have been done months ago if she could.

Since the last few chapters have been combat themed, I decided some character development was called for this time around. Now, next chapter won't be AS gloomy, but it will still have a bit of a shadow to it. This is a dark story, I realize that, but my goal is to make it as realistic as possible, and in war, not much is really positive. I promise that things will be balanced however with plenty of humor, and a little bit of this and that. I'm practicing on the other emotional spectrums with my other works, which if you read, you'll understand what I'm practicing on.

Oh, and anyone want to take a guess at what Rondana discovered observing Starling and Kai? It'll play an important part in the girls 'plans' for them later.

That's all I got for now, I hope the chapter wasn't too bad or depressing, I tried to work some good humor into it to balance it out.

Be on the lookout for chapter 18: A Time to Fight, a Time to Heal! Soon!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	18. A Whole New Kind of Trouble!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 18: A Whole New Kind of Trouble

AN: Ok, the long wait is over! I'm back baby! Real life has been soo mean to me, but I fought back to get time to write for you guys! Sorry I was gone for so long, but…well, that's how things are sometimes. I hope you all can forgive me for being away for almost a month! Now, things are going to pick up fast here. This terra is by request of Arashi21 for figuring out my first riddle way back when several months ago. Of course I haven't forgotten the person that won my second riddle, and I'll be PMing them the choices for the terra to visit after this one shortly. This particular 'mission' will be a wild ride the entire time, so make sure you keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times.

Enjoy!

Also don't forget check out Arashi21's profile for his work as well as a few that we are joint writing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda or the 'Deathclaws'. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Nintendo and Bethsaida (I think) however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, Kanin, Tsuki, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, Tigger's voice cut through the air.

"Kai…..why don't you ever take off your gloves?"

Everyone turned to look at the small blond haired girl with varied expressions.

_Groan_

"You actually remembered that?" Kai asked, clearly disappointed at that small detail not having been forgotten.

Tigger smirked.

"Hey, you promised, and I plan to collect on that promise. So off with them!" Tigger said cheerfully.

Despite the seriousness of the atmosphere, Kai smiled just a little bit, having figured out that she was trying to take everyone's minds off of what they had just learned.

"A promise is a promise I suppose," Kai said dryly as he undid the two strap buckles from each of his wrist.

"Remember when I told you that I'm….not quite human anymore? Well this is kind of what I was talking about," Kai said as he slowly pulled off the first glove before quickly pulling off the second one.

Holding out his bare hands, Kai looked off towards one of the walls, not wanting to see the others expressions.

For several seconds, nothing happened, but then, he felt something warm and soft touch his left hand. It pulled his hand up, and seemed to trace around the fingers.

"Kai….what…what is this?"

"_Of course it would be Piper,"_ Kai thought glumly.

"They're just what they look like," he retorted coldly.

"You're telling me that THIS is the reason you wear those stupid gloves all the time?" Tigger asked suddenly.

Kai's head shot back around with a glare.

"Hey, it's not by choice you know, I hate wearing those things. I just don't like being stared at ok?" Kai said before yanking his hand free.

"Ouch!"

Kai flinched.

"Sorry Piper. That's the other reason I wear them….so I don't hurt anyone," Kai said looking down at his hands as he flexed his fingers. He could feel the tiny drop of Piper's blood as it trickled down his finger, but did his best to ignore it.

His hands looked normal enough, but the nails were much darker than a normal persons. Not to mention the fact that they were also half an inch long and pointed.

"Why don't you just cut them?" Rondana offered.

_Snort_

"Tried it, doesn't work. I could cut them to the quick right now and they'd be back to full length by breakfast tomorrow. They never actually seem to grow any longer, but they always grow out really fast." Kai said as he pulled the leather gloves back over his hands.

"Have they always been like that?" Piper asked calmly.

Kai shook his head.

"I mean, you know, always, like, after you got the Shadow crystal?" Piper rephrased her question.

"Pretty much. They were like this when I woke up after….that happened. I tried for about a month to keep them 'normal' but gave up after that," Kai said using air quotes at one of the few words he had come to hate over the last few years.

Normal

It was vastly overrated in his opinion.

"Look, if you girls don't have any other questions, can I PLEASE have my boots back? This floor is _very_ cold."

Starling tossed Kai his boots, and after putting them on, he cleared his throat, prompting Rondana to hand him his staff as well as a small box that had his other 'confiscated' items.

"I'll be in the galley if anyone's looking for me," Kai said as he stormed out of the room, leaving the girls to themselves.

"Man…I had no idea that…" Piper said shaking her head as she lowered herself to her bunk and put her head between her hands, resting her elbows on her knees.

"That is one of Kai's biggest problems. He never tells anyone…..not even me," Starling said, though the last part was much softer.

"Why is he like that? I mean, he's not a bad person, but why is he so darn stubborn?" Tigger asked, slightly angry at herself for bringing up the issue in the first place.

"Its just part of who he is. Kai has…difficulty asking others for help," Starling answered sadly.

"He's not the only one," Piper muttered to herself remembering the purple haired Sky Knights not so stellar history on the subject.

"Why? He certainly has no problem coming to me to stitch him back together. Why would this be any different?" Rondana asked, thinking she knew the answer, but hoping that she was wrong.

"Because you're a doctor," Starling answered before continuing. "As much as he might hate going to see one, he knows that most doctors can generally be trusted because of their oath to cause no harm. In the past, he has had…problems with other people, even those he knew and trusted because of the blasted Council."

Piper's head lowered slightly more at this point.

"So….what do we do?" Shadow asked softly.

Starling shook her head. "If I knew a way to snap Kai out of his funks, I would have used it by now. All we _can_ do is wait for him to get over it himself. In the meantime, we should focus on repairing the ship. We haven't much time. We know now that Cyclonia is on the same trail we are. For now, we still have a head start, and it would do us well to keep it for as long as possible," Starling said as she exited the room.

Piper, Tigger and Marina followed her with Shadow bringing up the rear, but she was stopped by Rondana grabbing her shoulder.

"Shadow….could you do me a small favor?"

The young girl was surprised at Rondana's tone. It wasn't as much of a request as a veiled order.

"Uh…sure…I guess."

Rondana thought for a minute before saying anything, trying to word what she was about to ask carefully.

"I need for you to…I need you to speak with Kai."

Shadow flinched, but Rondana's grip held like iron.

"Please, just….speak to him. He needs a friend right now."

"What makes you think I _want_ to talk to him? And why me in the first place? Starling's his friend too isn't she?" Shadow asked, trying to get out of the situation as quickly as possible.

"It's not that simple Shadow. Please, just speak to him. I'm not asking you to do anything you don't want to, but please, just get him to talk. I've seen him slip into these moods before, and I don't think we can risk it with how things are developing now," Rondana said as she released the younger girls arm.

Watching the older woman slip away, Shadow felt her shoulders slump.

"_She's right…"_

Opening the hatch to the galley, Shadow cringed at the sight of Kai resting his head on the table.

"What do you want Shadow?" Kai's muffled voiced asked coldly.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Shadow stepped forward.

"I…I wanted to apologize…about…about what I said before…well…you know."

Kai didn't respond, so Shadow took that to mean she didn't have to leave….yet.

"Are you alright?" She asked suddenly.

Kai looked up with a mild glare.

"Ok, stupid question. But seriously, what's up? If you're worried about us knowing about," she never got to finish.

"I don't care about that Shadow…you should know by now that I don't really care what other people think…at least what they think about me."

"So what is it then?"

"Look, what make you think that I should tell you anyth…" Kai stopped when he saw Shadow's own version of Starling's patented 'death glare'.

Kai slumped. "Sorry. I'm just…not in a good mood right now," Kai said as he slumped his head back down to the table.

"Oh no you don't. You are going to tell me what's wrong, or I'll get the others in here and MAKE you talk," Shadow threatened.

Kai shot her an amused smirk.

"Make me? Shadow, I've been trained to resist any and all known forms of torture. What makes you think you can do any better than a Cyclonian inquisitor or one of the Council's lapdogs?"

Shadow's smirk changed from playful to downright scary.

"Because, I know for a fact that none of them were girls. And I happen to know for a fact that you tend to buckle very quickly when," Kai cut her off.

"OK! Ok! Jeeze you're evil you know that?"

Shadow's smirk returned to being an innocent 'clueless' smile.

"Why, what ever do you mean?"

Kai growled.

"Hey, not my fault I know how to push your buttons. What can I say? I learned from the best," she said playfully.

"And I think I'm going to regret it every day for the rest of my life," Kai muttered under his breath.

"I'm just trying to…process what _I_ just learned. I'm worried about having the lot of you on this mission, and I'm wondering if it would be in everyone's best interest if I just turned this ship around and dropped you all off."

"Kai….we've been over this. You. Are. Not. Going. SOLO! You would have died ten times over by now if we weren't here."

"You all died THREE TIME'S OVER ON THE LAST TERRA ALONE!" Kai roared.

Shadow gaped at him.

"Is that what this is about? The going back in time thing?"

Kai looked away, not wanting to meet the younger girls gaze.

"It is isn't it? You're afraid you're going to mess up again aren't you?"

"I failed three times Shadow…THREE TIMES! I'm not going to risk that again!"

"Hello! We take the same risk just being here! Or did you forget that?! We WANT to help you, you thick skulled idiot! Is that too hard for your tiny brain to figure out?!" Shadow roared back.

"As long as you're on MY ship and helping on MY mission, you are MY responsibility! I'm not going to risk you or any of the others getting hurt or dying on my account!" Kai shouted, now standing in front of and looking down at the much smaller person before him.

_SLAP_

"YOU. ARE. NOT. MY. FATHER! So stop acting like it! I don't need a father! I need a friend, and SO DO YOU!"

Kai blinked.

"Pull yourself together, grow up, and STOP TRYING TO BE SOMETHING YOU'RE NOT!" Shadow was panting at this point and shaking in anger.

"What happened to you Kai? You're not like this. Why are you so afraid all of a sudden? You weren't on any of the other missions you helped out on. What makes this one any different? Is it the risks? Is it the danger? What is it? Why are you pushing us all away? We're you're friends, we just want to help you," Shadow asked softly.

Looking up, she saw several emotions flicker across his face, but it only took a brief moment before they disappeared under his 'mask'. Kai then walked past her towards the exit, but not before stopping when he was standing right beside her, shoulder to shoulder, but facing the opposite direction.

"It's because…..this time…I'm afraid," he said cryptically before exiting the room.

Shadow's eyes widened.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly. Kai, though quieter than normal (which was in fact saying quite a bit) helped the others as they made repairs to the ship. With everyone helping, instead of it just being Tigger, Kai and Starling, things went much quicker.

Less than four hours later, and they were off to the next location.

"Ok, so where are we going next? Terra Ray?" Tigger asked hopefully.

Kai chuckled.

That let everyone know they were not going to like what he said immediately.

"Fraid not. Looks like we'll be visiting some old friends of mine actually."

That caught everyone's attention.

"Uh….but if one of the sites is in Terra Deep, why didn't we just take care of that one first?" Shadow asked with a gulp.

"Hey! The Murk's are more like business partners than anything else. It's not like I hang around them by choice….often. Were going to the Urufu Mori. It's not exactly the most….look; the place is downright scary ok? I hate it, I hated it when I was there, and I don't want to go back there, so I can pretty much guarantee that you'll hate it too….probably more than I did. But the people there are…friendly enough," Kai answered carefully.

"What's wrong with it? If the people are ok then why is it an issue?" Marina asked, not understanding the problem.

Piper groaned, getting everyone's attention.

"Kai, is this that place that you were telling me is still stuck in the 'old' ways?" Piper asked as if she was being told she needed to get rabies shots.

Kai nodded.

"Uh…translation for non book people please?" Shadow asked raising her hand.

Piper turned to face the others with a frown.

"These people have…not changed since their civilization was founded. They might be a little backwater compared to other terras in a few ways, but culturally they are thousands of years behind. They go by this stupid caste system that dictates what a person can do in life. Namely, girls stay at home and do all the work while guys do all the fighting, hunting, and are the only ones that have any 'rights'," Piper explained.

"Great, so we're going to a terra full of male chauvinist pigs. What are we supposed to do? Pretend to be guys?" Marina said dryly.

Kai had to bit his tongue at that remark, but he decided to at least tell them what _was_ going to happen.

"No. I'm not exactly on…good terms with their chief, but I can at least get them to back off, but that's only if we even come across them. It would be better to just avoid them outright if at all possible."

Several hours later, the terra came into view.

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me." Shadow said as she, like the others, gaped at the sight before them.

The terra was located on the backside of the Great Divide, so it was dark all day, every day year round. The odd thing was that it actually had trees, a LOT of trees, but they were all dead.

"What happened to this place?" Rondana asked as the ship lowered so that it was only a dozen or so feet above the tree line.

"No one knows really. It's been like this for a long time," Kai answered.

"But for trees to grow, it must have had sunlight at one point, and there is no way that those mountains have grown in the last thousand years," Rondana shot back.

"What if the terra dropped?"

Everyone turned to look at Shadow.

"Seriously, think about it. If the mountains haven't grown, then the terra must have shrunk, right?"

"Shadow don't be ridiculous. There is no force on Atmos that could bring a Terra down even a few feet, let alone several hundred," Piper shot back.

"Uh…actually Piper, there ARE…several in fact. But none of them are anywhere near here," Kai said blankly.

"Where does it say we need to go?" Kai asked, remembering that he hadn't seen the map in a good few days.

"I'm working on it, just give me a minute," Piper said as she suppressed an involuntary shudder.

"_Something is wrong with this terra. I don't think Kai is hiding anything from us, but something is just…wrong here."_ Looking around, she noticed that Kai, Starling and Marina all seemed to be a bit more edgy than usual. Shadow, whom she usually used as a 'gauge' for weirdness on a terra was preoccupied with something from earlier, so that was out for the moment.

Looking back down at the map, she looked it over carefully, trying to figure out what they should be looking for.

"We're looking for a…oh I don't believe this. It says were looking for an underground bunker of some kind."

Kai, Starling, Marina and Piper all groaned.

Underground hidden bases, especially those that were built by the Ancients were always a pain in the backside.

ALWAYS

"I see a clearing down there. Let's set up base and see if we can get our bearings straight," Starling said leaning over Kai's shoulder and pointing to a small clear patch of land.

"Ay ya Captain," Kai said dryly, causing Starling to frown slightly.

After they landed, the group exited the ship to see if they could figure out where they needed to go.

"Kai, I think we should talk to them. They might know where it is, they do live here after all."

"Piper, trust me, if we go to the village you'll have a heart attack, a stroke, or you'll turn the entire thing into a heaping pile of half burnt rubble."

"Then you go if you're so sure of yourself," Piper defended.

"If I go I WILL turn the village into a burnt cinder. We should do our best to just avoid contact with them," Kai answered without a second thought.

"Kai, I think Piper has a point; we should use whatever options are available to us in this….Kai? Are you listening to me?"

Starling knew the look on the boys face. Something was very wrong here.

Suddenly Marina looked up and shifted into a defensive stance, drawing her blades.

"We're not alone," Kai whispered as he drew his staff.

The others carefully drew their weapons and backed towards each other in a circle formation. They were not going to allow themselves to be caught off guard again.

Marina shifted her eyes over to Kai, who in turn nodded.

_Rustle_

Shifting towards the sound, Starling saw a bush move for just an instant before it stopped.

"I don't like this," Shadow said quietly.

"Shhh, we don't know what it is that's," before he could finish speaking, Marina leapt forward and drove her blades into the ground behind the bush that had moved just moments ago.

Right when she landed, something small and black jetted out like a rocket and tackled Shadow to the ground.

"AHH! GET IT OFF ME GET IT OFF ME GET IT OFF ME NOW!"

Hearing the others laughing, she stopped thrashing and looked down.

To see the twitching nose of a little black bunny rabbit.

Turning red with embarrassment, Shadow grabbed the rabbit by the scuff of its neck and got up.

"You guys were just as freaked out as I was!" Shadow shouted, trying her best to salvage her wounded pride.

About to launch into a speal of insults, Shadow was stopped when Kai tackled her back to the ground.

Since her head was over his shoulder as she went down, Shadow saw what was above.

The only way to describe it was a huge hand with what looked like steak knives for fingers.

_ROAR_

Scared out of her wit, Shadow barely registered when Kai rolled to the side and threw her several feet away.

"WHAT THE DIN IS THAT?!" Marina shouted at Piper as she ducked from the monstrosity that threatened to cut her in two.

"WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME?!" Piper shouted back as she jumped over the creatures bladed tail.

"IT WAS A GENERAL STATEMENT!"

The beast was just that. A beast.

It looked vaguely human, but only as far as its basic shape.

The creature was at least seven feet tall, had scaly orangish colored skin, a left hand that looked like a dragons claw, and a right hand that looked almost like a Virage's and was the size of Junko's torso. It's only other distinguishing trait was that it had a relatively small head with a mouth of razor sharp teeth.

_GRROOOOOUUUUUHHHHH_

"Kai, talk to me here, what is that thing?!" Starling demanded.

"I don't know! I've never seen anything like it, I swear!" The boy shouted as he rolled away from its massive 'death claw' and tried to put as much distance between it and himself.

"AHH! Hey, I need a hand here!" Marina shouted as the creature turned its sights on her and charged.

Raising her scimitars into an X block, Marina held back the giant claw just barely.

"Good lord this things strong. It's like trying to hold back bus," she muttered under her breath as she felt it forcing her down.

The creature started making a series of grunting growl sounds that almost sounded like a Skimmer stalling out.

"Yeah well same to you ugly!" Marina shouted back.

This seemed to anger the creature, causing it to push down even harder.

"SOME TIME TODAY WOULD BE NICE!" Marina shouted, feeling that her legs were about to give out under the monstrous pressure being forced down on her.

"What do you want us to do!? I'm not fighting that thing! Junko wouldn't even fight it without a beam or something to smash it with!" Shadow shouted from a perch up in a nearby tree.

Rondana snapped her fingers.

"That's it! Everyone, aim for the tree Shadow is in!"

The young girl's eyes flashed in understanding as she jumped from the tree and swung her crystal ax into the tree's base, right as several different colored beams of energy struck it from the other side.

"TIMBER!" Shadow called out.

"MARINA! MOVE IT NOW!" Starling shouted.

Grinning, the red head deactivated her blades and rolled under between the creatures legs right before the tree came crashing down on top of it.

Brushing herself off, Marina looked at the creature's unmoving body for several seconds, then gave it a swift hard kick.

"What is it?" Shadow asked, still keeping her distance from the monster.

"I think its dead," Kai said, noticing a trickle of green ooze flowing out from under the tree.

"Really? No dip Sherlock. What's your next amazing discovery? Water is wet?" Shadow bit back, still a bit shook up from the fight.

"Hey, I saved your butt, you owe me!" Kai shot back.

"I put up with your butt, so you owe me!" Shadow retorted.

"Uh, guy's I think you should take a look at this," Tigger called out from the tree line.

Stopping mid-insult, Kai and the others went to see what 'they needed to see'.

"Oh…" Piper turned away, as did most of the others aside from Starling, Marina and Kai.

It looked like a large cocoon, but it was…moving, pulsating even.

"We should torch it now, it's probably a nest for those…things," Marina said readying her blades.

"Hang on, I think I…hear something," Kai said moving towards the fleshy cocoon with a strange look on his face.

"Kai, get away from there, we need to destroy it before it hatches," Starling ordered.

Kai ignored her and moved closer to it before reaching out to touch it.

Immediately it started pushing against his hand.

Eyes wide, Kai pulled out his slicer blade and bisected the bag in one clean cut from bottom to top.

"KAI WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Piper shrieked, thinking that he had just set free the creatures offspring.

"Stopping you guys from making a big mistake, that's what!" Kai shouted as he reached into the cocoon and started pulling it open.

"Come on, give me a hand here! I need help!"

Not hearing any movement, Kai called out again.

"Come on! I need a hand here, you have to trust me!"

Only one set of footsteps approached him.

"What do you…need a hand with?" a firm familiar voice asked, causing Kai to almost fall over.

"Thanks Star, I need you to hold this, hurry, I don't know how much time is left," he said pushing one of the cut 'flaps' towards her.

Repressing a shudder, Starling grabbed hold of the fleshy material and pulled it back as far as she could, and watched as Kai shoved his hand into it.

"Grab my hand!"

Starling, along with everyone else's eye's widened as a very human looking hand grabbed hold of Kai's forearm.

"Hang on tight!" Kai shouted before falling backwards and pulling the person free.

"Ewww gross!" Shadow shouted.

Of course everyone else was thinking the exact same thing, they just didn't vocalize it.

When Kai pulled the person free from the cocoon, a rush of slimly yellowish ooze came with them, drenching Kai and splattering half of Starling.

"AAHHH!"

Focusing on the source of the scream, the group saw it was not only the new person, but Kai and Starling as well.

"What's wrong with them?!" Piper shouted as she and the others ran up to them.

"AHH! It burns!!" Kai shouted as he curled up. Starling had doubled over and was barely standing while the new person was just screaming at the top of their lungs pain.

"That stuff must be some sort of acid…its air activated! We have to get it off of them now!" Rondana shouted as she reached out towards Kai, only to flinch back when his eyes opened and focused on her with an intense pain induced rage burning in their depths.

"**Get away from me now!"** Kai growled out in an eerie two tone voice.

"Kai, you need to get that stuff off of you! Hurry up!" Rondana pleaded.

Kai ignored her and shakily pushed himself up, still not having broken eye contact with Rondana.

"_His eyes! They're almost wild with pain, does he even recognize me?"_

Just when they didn't think things could get any worse.

They did.

_THUMP_

Something very large and very heavy landed behind them.

_HOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWLLLLLL_

"You have got to be kidding me!" Shadow shouted as she pulled her crystal ax free from its holster as she spun around to face whatever the new threat was.

Whereas the creature from earlier looked like some freakish demented alligator demon hybrid, this creature was very familiar to those present.

Standing at six foot six and covered from head to toe in solid white fur, the creature's canine snout leered directly at Kai before letting out a deep gutted growl.

Kai, shaking from pain didn't show any signs of fear, just pain induced rage. His mouth stretched back, baring his teeth with a vicious scowl.

The creature looked around at the others, and seemed to focus on Starling for a moment longer than the others before shifting its gaze to the figure behind Kai.

Growling, it lumbered towards Kai. Piper noted that its hands actually seemed to grow several inches wider and longer as ten bright silvery claws extended from their tips.

Kai didn't budge an inch; he stood his ground and gave a deep throated growl as a warning not to come any closer.

Rearing back its head, the werewolf let out a roaring howl that made the hair on the back of the girls necks stand on end.

"_What is it doing, why hasn't it attacked us?"_ Piper thought as she watched the exchange between the two.

Kai's mouth pulled back a little farther, baring his teeth completely. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his neck back before letting lose his own roar, one that the others had never heard before. (Think T-Rex from Jurassic Park, just not as 'powerful')

The werewolf paused for a moment and sniffed the air. Piper, just starting to come back to her senses and shaking off the effects of the two roars, was surprised to see the creatures face show a very human expression.

Realization

"Kai? Is that you?"

Eyes narrowed, Kai didn't budge.

"Kai, what are you doing here?" The creature said as it shrunk to being about Aerrow's size.

Tigger was the first to notice the tight red and black robe that the creature was wearing suddenly turn into a loose fitting set of robes.

"Kai? It is you, what are you doing here?"

Kai shook his head. "Kanin? Is that you?"

"YOU KNOW HIM!?" Shadow shouted (voicing everyone's thoughts)

Before he could answer however, Kai collapsed forward onto the ground in front of Kanin.

"This could be nothing but trouble, I know it," The man said shaking his head.

"Uh, excuse me, but, WHO ARE YOU!?" Shadow shouted, not happy at her being ignored.

The man (whom they assumed to be Kanin) turned and seemed to notice the others for the first time.

"Oh great, more outsiders." Before he said anything else however he turned his attention to the figure on the ground behind Kai.

"Tsuki!"

Kneeling down he tried to brush the 'ooze' off of her and was caught off guard by the sudden burning sensation that creped up his arm.

"Fenral that burns, what did you do to her?!" he demanded with a snarl.

"WE didn't do anything! Kai and Starling pulled…HER!?" Tigger said blinking at this sudden revelation.

Sure enough, the figure behind Kai was noticeably female now that they actually paid attention to it..

"Forget about that, we have to get this stuff off of them now. Shadow, you and Marina take care of Starling, Tigger, you help…Kanin was it? Help Kanin, I'll take care of Kai. Chop chop people, move it now!" Rondana shouted, prompting the others to move quickly.

"I'll get some blankets!" Piper shouted as she ran back inside the ship, not having been given anything else to do.

"AHH!"

"I said it was acid Tigger, you should know what that means," Rondana called out over her shoulder as she unfastened Kai's armor plating as quickly, but as carefully as she could.

"_Only you would get doused with some sort of organic acid five minutes after landing on a terra."_ She thought ruefully shaking her head.

After Piper returned with the blankets and a stable geyser crystal, the others stood back as she doused them with water to remove as much of the acid as they could. Normally this would have been a HUGE no no, but at the moment they had no other choice.

Wrapping them with blankets, Rondana turned towards the others.

"We have to get them out of here. Kanin, how far is your village?"

The white haired man narrowed his ice blue eyes at her dangerously.

"Who are you to order anything from me _woman_."

Rondana's eyes narrowed just as dangerously.

"I am this squadron's chief medical officer, and as of now, acting leader until I deem the threat to its members is no longer a factor. You seem to know Kai, and since you have not attacked us, I am wagering that you are a friend, or at least an ally to him."

Seeing his expression not change in the slightest, Rondana clinched her fists.

"Your friend needs medical attention, and she needs it immediately. Your people know how to threat themselves correct?"

No response.

"If they are to have any hope of saving her, you need to get her to your people as soon as possible. Our ship is faster than your legs. You help us, we help you. Is that understood?"

The man snorted before picking the woman up and walking towards the ship, causing the others to let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank the divines I know politics," Rondana muttered as she messaged her temples to ward off the oncoming migraine.

"Marina, you get Starling. Piper, give me a hand with Kai," she ordered, knowing now that this mission was going to be a long one.

End Chapter 18

Ok, I know this was short compared to my past chapters. But I've been away for a while, and I wanted the actual village part to be a chapter in of itself, so that's why I stopped this one here. Hope I haven't gotten rusty while I was gone and that this chapter was still enjoyable though. I'll try to update a bit more frequently now that I have some time to actually work on my…well, work lol. Also, check out my profile, I've updated it a bit and put up a link to where you'll find the actual model I used to make Kai's 'freighter'.

Be on the look out for chapter 19: Old Friends, Old Scars, New Problems! To be out soon!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	19. Old Friends, Old Scars, New Problems

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 19: Old Friends, Old Scars, New Problems

AN: Alright, I'm sad to say that this story might…it might not get finished. Not that I have given up on writing, its just that….well, pretty much everything that I had planned for this story has already happened in the cannon series now. The 3 Guardians (though mine were slightly different), ARYGYN! Piper's powers, the soul anchor/binding crystal, the Crystal Drive Transformation ability, Finn turning out NOT to be a complete bonehead, Piper being 'the one' and Cyclonis getting a flying terra.

What's the point in writing something that's almost identical to the cannon series? In retrospect however, I guess it's my own fault for falling so far behind schedule. Had I kept up with my plans this story would have been finished 2 weeks before the series final episode, and I would have been seen as the guy who got ripped off royally, not the rip off guy. I might continue this, but I just don't know right now. Sorry guys, I will try my best, its just kinda hard since I'm no longer writing something new and different from the series. I want to point out that I hold NOTHING against the series or its writers. It could just be a coincidence that we had some many similar things planned (Harry Potter and Naruto come to mind as an example) but if I did anything to inspire the writers, then I am happy to have helped with such a great show in some way.

Oh, and don't forget check out Arashi21's profile for his work as well as a few that we are joint writing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda or the 'Deathclaws'. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Nintendo and Bethsaida (I think) however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, Kanin, Tsuki, Majah and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

It only took a short while for the ship to reach Kanin's village, but when it did, the problems started instantly.

"What do you mean we're not allowed to carry weapons!?"

"I mean just what I said, woman are not allowed to carry weapons in our village. You will hand them over now or you will leave now," the guard threatened.

Shadow, Marina and Piper were grinding their teeth while Tigger and Starling tried to hold them back.

That left Rondana to try and talk their way in past the guards.

"Look, we won't be here for long, please could you just," she never got to finish.

"If you wish to enter the village, you will hand over your weapons and armor now, otherwise, leave here at once!" The guard ordered.

_Growl_

The guard looked down and Griffy and Radarr, but was surprised to see the two of them looking around, clearly surprised as well.

"You…will…open…those gates….right now….OR I WILL TEAR THEM DOWN MYSELF!"

Rondana turned wide eyed to see Kai (who was still on the makeshift stretcher they had made) sitting up and baring his teeth at the guard.

"Boy, you will know your place or you will be."

"SHOVE IT! I KNOW YOUR BLASTED CODE YOU OVERBEARING OUTDATED FLEE BRAINED MUTT! I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE!"

The guard's eyes widened once he got a better look at who he was talking to.

"YOU!"

Kai's feral expression seemed to become even more agitated at this point.

"Yeah, ME, you have a problem with that?! You are interfering not only with an important mission, but you have threatened no less than THREE royal family members in the last TWO minutes!"

The guard's eyes narrowed.

"Royalty? Why would royalty travel with rabble such as yourself?" The guard taunted.

Between the massive pain spreading through Kai's body, and the already mounting stress this mission had placed on him so far, Kai snapped.

"BECAUSE I'M ROYALTY TOO!" Kai shouted before launching a verbal assault that would have made both Captain Scabulious and Marina's father proud.

Right at that point, the girls jaws dropped, but for two different reasons.

Three of their jaws dropped from the mere notion that Kai was royalty.

The other three's jaws dropped at the language that followed said proclamation.

"I don't believe you, there is no way in Fenrails graces you could be royalty," the guard said disdainfully.

Kai pointed at Starling.

"Tell him before I do something he will regret."

Marina and Piper were the only two that picked up the underlining threat behind his choice of words (something _he_ will regret, not _I_)

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Starling took a deep breath before replying.

"Kai is the soul surviving male of terra Messa. As such, he is, by default, accounted as the next in line as its Lord or Barron after the current default ruler steps down or dies."

Piper, Shadow and Tigger, who had been excited to learn that Kai might be royalty, felt their excitement poof into smoke.

"_I keep forgetting about that. Aside from Starling, Kai and his mother are the only surviving Messan's. A king without a kingdom."_ Piper thought sadly.

The guard's dropped their staffs.

"So, unless you want me to tell your chief that you have been denying a member of a royal family medical treatment, YOU WILL MOVE NOW!" Kai bellowed, causing a small flock of birds to fly away.

Quickly picking up their weapons, the two guards opened the gates and ushered the group in.

Marina's eyes narrowed. When they had been dealing with the guards at the front gate, she had already decided that she wouldn't like this village, but as soon as they had entered it, she had to restrain herself from doing something that, as Kai had put it, _they_ would regret. Din knew that she wouldn't have any. Every male in the village seemed to be glaring at them as they passed by. Not glares of distrust, as was common with strangers, but genuine stares of disdain.

Piper too noticed the heated glares being sent their way, but since she was used to it (from her and the other Storm Hawks being 'just a bunch of kids') she let it roll off her like water on a duck.

Tigger and Shadow both tried to keep their eyes straight ahead and not pay attention to the glares. It wasn't that they were afraid as much as they weren't sure what to do, and didn't want to make their situation any worst.

Starling herself was the only one not affected at all by the glares. Her thoughts at the moment were literally thousands of miles away.

Rondana, while not exactly in a good mood, was occupying herself with trying to figure out what had happened back at the gate to cause such an outburst from Kai.

"_I know he has a deep respect for woman because of Starling and Suzi, but what on Atmos would have caused him to snap like that? His tolerance for pain is well above what he should be feeling from those burns by now. It doesn't make any sense."_

Running over what happened in her mind a couple of times however found the answer.

_Flashback_

"I mean just what I said, woman are not allowed to carry weapons in our village. You will hand them over now or you will leave now," the guard threatened.

_Flashback end_

"_He was still quiet when we were told to disarm ourselves…but."_

_Flashback_

"If you wish to enter the village, you will hand over your weapons and armor now, otherwise, leave here at once!"

_Flashback end_

Looking around, Rondana noted the others current condition. Shadow and Tigger were both in their flight uniforms, as was she and Piper, and Marina was wearing her standard 'day wear'.

But Starling was wearing her flight suit and battle armor.

Rondana's eyes flashed in both understanding and mirth.

"_Again, Starling was the catalyst to make him snap. I doubt the others, or even Kai himself caught that though. So quick to come to her defense, yet so slow to actually help her when she needs it."_

Rondana's musings were brought to a halt when they reached a rather large nondescript building in the back of the village.

Kanin, who had been silent up until now banged his fist on the door several times.

The door was quickly pulled open by a man that Rondana could have swore made the Sky Council members look like a bunch of teenagers.

"Not another one…and a female at that?" He asked in a mixture of agitation and annoyance.

"Majah, what are you talking about?"

The old man (who they guessed was Majah) blinked.

"Kanin? When did you get back?"

"Just a short while ago, but what did you mean by another one?" then his eyes narrowed before adding "And a female at that?"

The old man suddenly saw the others and his frown became a scowl.

"Keep doing that old man and it'll be permanent."

Looking down at the source of the quip, the old mans eyes widened.

"Yeah yeah, its me again. Look, I'll explain later, but right now I'm in a major amount of pain, so could we please get inside?" Kai asked, winching in pain from the burns.

Marina's ear twitched at that comment.

"_Please? I don't think I've ever heard Kai say please since this mission began," _she thought idly.

Shaking his head quickly, the old man motioned them in.

As soon as they entered, everyone's eyes widened.

This, they quickly surmised, must be the village's hospital. As it had rows and rows of people lined up on both sides of the room they had entered.

Rondana caught Shadow's questioning look, but shook her head, silently telling her to keep quiet.

"There isn't much room left, but I will see what I can do," the old man said as he moved surprisingly fast towards the back of the room.

Following him, the others (including Kanin) found themselves feeling more and more ill the further they went. On both sides, almost crammed together were dozens and dozens of once strong and healthy men, who had been reduced to a near death state of frailty.

Rondana quickly noted that whatever it was affecting them however was not the results of being attacked by whatever creature they had encountered a little over an hour ago.

"_Whatever that thing was, it wouldn't leave this much of a person left after it got a hold of them, if it left anything at all."_

The people's skin was a dark grey color, and was covered with large blots of purplish red she further noted.

Immediately, her doctor mindset kicked into over gear.

"_IT'S A PLAGUE! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"_

Just when she was about to voice this however, Kanin spoke.

"What did this? The Red Claw's have never been taken down, not all at once."

Rondana's eyes narrowed in thought.

"_Red Claw? Whatever the case, it seems all these men have something in common."_ Looking around, she noted that they were all very large, six foot six at minimum and she guessed weighing in at lease two hundred pounds each.

"_These are not regular men…they must be soldiers…or warriors,"_ she guessed.

"I am afraid that I am not sure Kanin. It started a little over a week ago. One by one they became ill. At first we thought it might be a plague of some sort, but after five days passed and no one else was brought in…" the old man let the rest hang.

Rondana realized that something was wrong with this picture. Very, very wrong.

"_Why is it only these Red Claw's are sick? If it was an outbreak of some sort, then everyone in the village would be falling ill, not just one group."_ Narrowing her eyes even more, she discreetly surveyed the men on each side a little more closely.

"_Varying ages, so it can't be something genetic, besides, I doubt all these men are related to each other. They don't seem to have anything in common either, other than being a Red Claw…"_

"Have you made any hypotheses as to what the cause of this might be?" She asked suddenly.

The old man looked over his shoulder at the young woman with a mild glare.

"She's a friend Majah…and a…doctor," Kai said weakly.

The old man snorted.

"Never thought you were actually serious about trusting a woman to do a mans job."

Rather than feel angered by the old mans retort, Rondana felt something different. She heard the insult, just as the others present had, but unlike the guards from before, or the glares from the villagers, she felt not a single trace of ill intent behind his words.

In fact, it almost sounded like…he was teasing Kai?

"I was telling the truth then, and I am now. She's stitched me back together so many times I lost count," Kai said lightly.

"She must not be doing a good job then. If she was, you wouldn't keep falling apart," Kanin jabbed.

Rondana was about to teach the soon to be female a lesson when Majah stepped in.

"It wouldn't matter who put him back together Kanin and you know it. How many times was Kai in here during that one week he stayed?" The old man said before chuckling.

Kanin paused for a moment before chuckling himself.

"Guess you're right. He probably has a doctor and bed with his name on it in every village there is."

"Alright, enough with the jokes. Set them down here," the old man said indicating to an open space on the floor next to a window.

Shadow and Tigger put the cargo net/stretcher down and let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm not that heavy," Kai said pouting slightly.

Shadow and Tigger blinked before snorting and shaking their heads at Kai.

"Since you are actually able to talk, I am guessing you do not have the blight," Majah asked, getting down to business.

Kai shook his head before replying. "Just some burns. We were running low on supplies before coming here, but after fighting that…thing we had to use the last of it up."

"Burns? What were you fighting?" Majah asked quirking a brow.

"You mean you don't know?" Starling asked suddenly.

The old man looked up at her, and after a moment, for just a brief second smiled before going back to his scowl. "There is no creature known to us that can cause burns. Gashes, yes, poison, yes, but not burns."

That made the others look at each other wearily.

"Does this help?" Kai asked.

Looking down, the others saw that Kai had made an illusion of the creature they had fought. (Though it was only about a foot tall.)

Kanin and Majah both looked at the creature (which snapped at Kanin) closely, but shook their heads.

"No, never seen anything like it before." Kanin replied first.

Majah shook his head. "I am sorry, but I have never even heard of such a creature myself. Where did you find it?"

"About five miles southeast of here," Rondana stated as she crossed her arms.

Feeling a tug on her leg, Piper looked down.

"Something wrong Radarr?"

The Sky Monkey shook its head quickly, but then pulled from his small back pack an item that made Piper shudder.

A claw.

"If you don't believe us, here's proof," Piper said as she held up the claw for all to see.

Kanin's eyes almost dropped out of their sockets and Majah almost dropped his cane at seeing it.

"That….for something to have a claw like that…a true test for a warrior if I ever saw one."

Marina snorted. "You mean a test in stupidity. That thing would rind you limb from limb like a newborn bird."

Kanin's eyes flashed as he spun around and threw out his fist.

"I have had enough of your barbs woman!"

Kanin and Majah were both unprepared for what happened next.

Marina didn't duck or get out of the way.

No

Ste stayed right were she was and lifted only her right hand, and caught Kanin's fist in her open palm.

"You have something you wish to say?" Marina taunted as she started tightening her grip.

The others looked on and could see the pain in Kanin's eyes. He did a good job of hiding it, but they could still see it was there.

"I was only able to hold back that creature for a few seconds with BOTH arms and my entire body. YOU can't even push back my _weak_ arm," Marina said darkly as she tightened her grip even more.

"Enough of this, I will not have you fighting in here and causing a mess in my hospital. If you have something to settle do it outside," Majah ordered.

Marina grinned wickedly as she released Kanin's hand before whispering so that only he could hear her.

"Next time whelp, the old man won't be there to save you," resulting in an angry flash from the young mans eyes.

"Still, if the creature was that close to our village, there is a chance that more of them will come. Kanin, tell the guards to be on full lookout for anything suspicious, and to sound the alarm if something happens. Without our warriors, we can't afford to take any chances."

The young man nodded his head in affirmation and left quickly.

"Now, I am assuming that you have a vessel, am I correct?"

Kai nodded his head.

"Bring it inside the village, but try not to cause too much of a scene if you can. It would do you no good for your only transportation to be destroyed."

Marina stretched her arms before grinning. "I'll take care of it. It's been a while since I've flown."

"Marina," Kai warned.

Rolling her eyes, the redhead walked off muttering about boys that worried more than old women.

"As for the rest of you, I would advise against spending too much time away from your friend here."

Shadow snorted.

"We will try to keep that in mind, but…is there anything we can do to help?" Piper asked. She didn't want to think they were freeloading off of these people, even if they deserved it.

Majah shook his head. "No, I am afraid it is not allowed…as is your carrying weapons…"

Tigger and Shadow both groaned at this.

"Just let it go old man. We'll be out of your…well, I can't really say out of your hair since you don't have any, but you get the idea."

Majah glared at the boy before whacking him over the head with his cane.

The rest of the day was…interesting to say the least. The girls had tried to venture out into the village, but eventually gave up and returned to the hospital….well, most of them did. Marina and Shadow had to be dragged in before they caused any major problems with the village's male populace (read as cause much harm and destruction.)

Tigger kept Shadow occupied with a deck of cards, which Majah actually sat down and played a few rounds of Go Fish with, while Piper spent most of day going over the log book and trying to find where the cave's entrance was located.

Starling and Rondana however were a different case.

Rondana was observing how Majah ran his hospital, and was surprised to see that aside from having an entirely male staff, that it was actually pretty close to Jim's clinic (only much better). At the same time, she was enjoying what had come to be a favorite pass time for her, one that she picked up from Kai she guessed from his many stays in her care.

People watching.

Not exactly the same as just idly watching what was going on around you, but actually paying attention to a person and every little detail of what they did.

Currently, the target of her observations was Starling.

The purplenette was standing guard over Kai. Though the casual observer would think she was just leaning against the wall and speaking to her friend, Rondana knew otherwise.

She might have looked relaxed, but Rondana could see that the muscles in Starling's legs were twitching every now and then from being taunt over an extended period of time. Added to this, while her head was pointed down at Kai, her eyes were constantly scanning the area, almost as if they were expecting something to happen.

Rondana snorted to herself.

"_Blind is to justice what clueless is to."_

"Rondana, could you come here a sec?"

Blinking out of her train of thought, Rondana came up to Piper's side.

"Sure, what's up?"

"You're good with books, does anything seem strange to you about this?" Piper asked holding out the book to the older teen.

Rondana tried to see what Piper was getting at, but didn't notice anything too strange. The book was Ancient for God's sake, strange and weird was to be expected.

Running her fingers over it however, she did notice something wrong.

"There's a page missing."

Piper looked down.

"Really? How could you tell?"

Before Rondana could answer her, they heard a loud horn call blow throughout the village.

"Was that a good alarm or a bad alarm?" Shadow asked looking up from her hand of cards.

"Uh, Shadow, since when is there such thing as a good alarm?" Tigger asked her friend as she carefully slid her winnings towards herself.

Shadow gulped.

"That's what I was afraid you'd say."

Right as the words left her mouth, the door crashed open and Kanin came flying in.

"Majah! There is trouble at the East gate. Something's attacking the wall!"

The old man looked at the girls in the room, then back to Kai. "It looks like your little rumble has caused quite a commotion young man. Next time, make sure whatever it is you are fighting doesn't have friends."

Kai didn't say anything, instead just opting to look the other way.

Looking at Kanin, Majah nodded his head and the two left.

"What was that about?" Shadow asked, noticing Kai's reaction to the older mans comment.

"Just something from…last time I was here," Kai said darkly.

Sudden shouts and screams from outside caught their attention.

"Another attack?"

Starling's eyes narrowed.

"_Something is not right here. I'm missing something, but what is it?"_

"Marina, you and me will check."

Before the words had left her mouth, a huge clawed arm thrust through the wall of the building directly over where Kai was laying.

"IT'S ANOTHER OF THOSE FREAK THINGS!" Shadow shouted as she pulled her crystal ax ready.

Muttering under her breath, Starling pulled her own weapon free. "We can not afford to allow any casualties. Everyone, break!"

The group rushed for the doors, and entered into the fray.

What awaited them was a sight of pure carnage and pandemonium.

Apparently, Kai had neglected to mention that this terra's entire population was comprised of werewolves. Said werewolves were fighting about a dozen of the creatures Shadow had dubbed 'Deathclaws'.

And were losing.

Badly.

Radarr hopped onto Piper's shoulder, just as he did with Aerrow when he went into combat, and Griffy got into his battle stance.

Not needing any orders on what to do, the girls charged.

"Hey! Ugly! Yeah, I'm talking to you circus freak!" Marina shouted at a Deathclaw that was about to carry out its name on an unconscious werewolf.

The creature roared in anger and charged her.

"_Here we go, training, don't fail me now!"_

Breaking into a full blown run, Marina jumped onto the creatures shoulder; the pushed off into a forward tuck and roll. The second her feet touched the ground, she spun her blades into a twin downward hold and swung her arms back with as much force as she could, driving her scimitars into the creatures arms just under its shoulders where they connected to its arms.

Letting loose a roar of pain, it quickly spun around and tried to decapitate Marina.

Ducking under the creature's massive bladed hand, Marina came back up and slashed at it again and again. She knew that at this pace she didn't have a hope of winning, but if she could keep it occupied, then maybe someone else could.

Jumping to the side, she brought her left blade up and around so that it sliced the creature from its right wrist to its shoulder shoulder.

Smirking, she turned to renew her attack, but her smirk quickly fell.

"_What the…no, it couldn't..it..has."_

Marina watched as the long gash that traveled the entire length of the creatures arm sealed itself, leaving only a tiny trickly of blood where a huge gaping wound should have been.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Marina shouted before jumping over the creatures attack.

Shadow and Griffy were having about the same success, having discovered that the creatures could heal themselves soon after the fight started.

"THIS SUCKS!" Shadow called out at the top of her lungs as she ran from the Deathclaw as fast as she could.

Griffy squawked a reply that caused Shadow to double take.

"Griffy! Watch you mouth..err beak."

_Roooouuuugghhhhhh_

Hearing the creature behind them roar, Shadow's speed increased exponentially.

"_What am I supposed to do? This thing heals faster than Junko, Kai and Finn's ego put together!"_ Remembering what happened back at the forest however caused her even more confusion. _"If these things can heal, then why didn't that one? It just…died…and stayed dead."_

Recalling the short tumble with the Deathclaw, Shadow replayed each and every move the others made, up until the point where it was crushed by the tree.

"_That's it!"_

Looking over her shoulder, and seeing that the creature was still following her, Shadow grinned.

"_They can only heal if their alive, or they can't heal internal injuries. Either way it doesn't matter, but how do I use this?"_

Hearing someone scream in pain, Shadow turned just in time to see Tigger get thrown back by the Deathclaw she had been fighting.

"_TIGGER!"_ Shadow felt something in her just snap. After that point, everything became a blur.

_Glass shatters_

"GET AWAY FROM HER **NOW!"**

Tigger felt pain coursing through every inch of her body. She had only been hit one time, but it was like taking on a Wallop that was getting its teeth pulled.

Looking up, she saw the creature grinning madly at her and raise one of its clawed hands above its head.

"_No…redo's this time…huh?"_

Blinking, Tigger fought back the tears that were trying to fall, but failed miserably.

"_Aladd, Kai, someone, anyone, help me!"_

"GET AWAY FROM HER **NOW!"**

_CLANG_

Opening her eyes, Tigger saw the back side of her friend Shadow standing between her and the Deathclaw. Holding her crystal ax sideways with both hands, she was blocking the Deathclaw's claw with her ax's side.

"Shad..ow…"

"**Are you…ok…Tigger?"**

Tigger's eyes widened even further at hearing her friends voice.

"_NO! The curse! It must be trying to take control of her!"_

"Shadow, get out of here, you can't let the curse."

"**I'm fine…Tigger….just…move! I cant hold this thing for much longer!"**

Trying to move, Tigger found that she couldn't, the pain was just too much, and she knew that several of her bones had to be sprained if not broken.

Shadow on the other hand, at hearing her friends strained groans of pain only became even angrier.

"**You should pick on somebody your own size freak! But by the time I'm done with you, you won't be able to do that with a matchbox!"**

Letting loose a roar of her own, Shadow shoved the creature back several feet.

"**Let's see how you like MY blade!"**

Holding her ax out in front of her, Shadow moved her hand from the base of the hilt to the top of the blade. As she did so, the green crystal ax grew in size until its handle was almost as long as she was tall. Following this, the green crystal energy literally exploded into a fountain of raw power cascading from both ends.

This combined with the smoky purplish black energy field that was enveloping her body made Shadow into what could only be called at best, the true Grim Reaper.

Tigger could only watch in awe as her friend lifted the monstrous weapon with one hand and heft it onto her shoulder.

"**Alright freak, lets dance!"** Shadow roared out as she charged the cstill confused and stunned creature.

Hearing the explosion of energy nearby, Piper feared for the worst. She knew that Starling had taken the Shadow crystal from Kai, and that there was no way he would be getting back from her, or work up the courage to take it himself (for more reason than one.)

But at the same time, Kai had displayed the ability to use his powers without having the crystal on hand.

Trying to reach out and feel the source of power, Piper was surprised to find that she couldn't feel the energy field at all.

"_But that means that it's not crystal energy!"_

Letting out a sigh of relief, knowing that Kai had not broken his promise to them, she then realized something else.

"_If it's not Kai, then…who or what is it?"_ She thought.

"_Uh, this would be a good time to PAY ATTENTION TO THE THING THAT'S ABOUT TO MAKE US DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH!"_

"_Oh great, you again," _Piper thought ruefully.

"_Hey! I saved your butt last time remember!?"_ New Piper huffed.

Before Piper could 'think' of a reply, she found herself tackled into a tree.

"AAAHHHHHH!"

Dizzy from pain, Piper looked around, trying to find the source of her attacker, and unfortunately, found it.

Standing no more than five feet from her was a Deathclaw. Its tiny mouth grinning like a shark at her.

"_Do something!"_ Piper shouted.

"_What do you want me to do?! I can't control your body!"_ New Piper shouted back.

Bringing up her staff, Piper blocked the creatures next attack, but at the cost of her staff being snapped in two and her being thrown into a building.

Pushing herself up, Piper was hardly able to stand.

"_Why…why is it…"_

Her unfinished question was answered by a series of short deep croaks coming from the Deathclaw.

"_He…it…it's toying with me? Playing with me like a cat with its prey?"_

Several emotions ran through Piper's head at that moment. Starting with fear and dread, as she knew that this creature was leagues beyond her level. This was followed by terror at the thought that she was very likely about to die.

But then, then something else trickled into her line of thinking. A series of memories similar to this very moment.

_Flashback_

"You think you can stop me? You're just a stupid little kid!" Carver shouted as he lunged at Aerrow.

_Flashfoward_

"You're nothing but a stupid little kid! What could you possibly do against me!" Dark Ace taunted as he laughed.

_Flashfoward_

"What are you going to do? Your friends are busy and you're all alone," Lark said darkly with her reptilian smirk as she raised her staff towards Piper.

_Flashback end_

Tightening her grip on the two half's of her staff, all traces of fear vanished from Piper's face. Closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath, Piper felt something stir in her blood.

Annoyance

"_Why is it that no matter how hard we try?"_

Annoyance that grew into anger.

"_No one will take us seriously. Even after fighting and defeating Cyclonis, her armies, the Leviathan, Murk Raiders, it's never enough!"_

Anger that blossomed into full blown rage.

The rage, of a dragon.

"_No more, never again. WE ARE THE STORM HAWKS NOW!"_

The Deathclaw raised its arms high and charged what it _thought_ to be a vulnerable prey with an almost mad glee in its eye, never once noticing the crackling blue spark that emanated from Piper's crystal necklace.

Before the Deathclaw could cover half the distance between it and Piper, Piper's eye's opened, pinning it in place.

Instead of the warm and gentile orange orbs that were commonly seen by all, they were a brilliant sky blue and crackling with power.

Twirling the two half's of her broken staff around her, Piper leapt into the air with a savage scowl.

"EAT THIS YOU WALKING FREAK SHOW!"

Throwing her arms back, Piper focused the accumulated energy into her arms and flung them forward, producing a familiar blue and white pair of electrified wings.

Many, many miles away.

Standing on the bridge of the Condor, Aerrow looked over the chart carefully and frowned.

"_This doesn't make any sense. Those coordinates are in the middle of nowhere. There's no terra within almost a week's travel from,"_ eyes wide, Aerrow swayed for a moment before grabbing onto the edge of the table to steady himself.

"Woah buddy, you alright?" Finn asked, genuinely concerned for his friend.

Aerrow had been pushing himself, (as well as the others) to the breaking point since he found that mysterious letter. Only sleeping when he collapsed from exhaustion, and only eating when his stomach growled loudly enough to frighten Junko.

Taking a few deep breaths, the young man turned to his friend and tried to brush his concern away, only to be surprised at his friend's sudden shock.

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

Finn stammered before pointing at Aerrow's face, then to the mirror behind him.

Confused at his friends strange (read as stranger than normal) behavior, Aerrow slowly turned to look in the mirror.

What he saw was an electric blue crackle flashing in his eyes. Before he could blink however it disappeared into nothingness.

"_What on Atmos was that?"_

End chapter 19

Yeah, I'm evil aren't I? Like I said, I'm not a hundred percent sure what to do now that most of my fannon is actually cannon. I can go back to the drawing board and try to come up with some more stuff, or I can just go with the script I already have, its up to you guys.

I want to apologize for my lack of…existing lately lol, but things have been really busy and I haven't had time to think straight, much less work on anything that requires deep thinking. I AM still working on my fics though. TDT's newest chapter is almost complete, I've only got 5 more scenes to do for that, but it's just hard to work on for some reason.

I want to thank those of you that have stuck with me, you guys (even though most are actually girls) are what keep me going. I'll try to get better at responding to your reviews in the future sooner, and update more regularly.

Oh, and just to clear things up. Kai isn't REALLY royalty. It's just that with the entire population of Terra Messa…dead, the oldest survivor (his mother) holds legal ownership of the land, and as her son, he would be next in line. Hope that clears any confusion up.

That out of the way, be on the lookout for chapter 20:

Divided we stand, United we fall!

To be out soon!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	20. Divided We Stand, United We Fall!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 20: Divided We Stand, United We Fall!

AN: Well, thanks to you guys reviews (those of you that did, and I KNOW there are others that didn't) I managed to work past my little pity spell and have decided to as one famous character once said, 'I will continue to walk the path of the warrior, and will see this done straight onto the bitter end!' So don't worry about it ending on a cliffy lol Things have been busy, but with all of your support, I managed to coax my muse out of hiding and give me a hand, so thank guys! (Even if all of you but two are actually girls….)

Oh, and don't forget check out Arashi21's profile for his work as well as a few that we are joint writing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda or the 'Deathclaws'. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Nintendo and Bethsaida (I think) however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, Kanin, Tsuki, Majah and this story. Oh, and lastly, the 'song' that will be in this chapter are excerpts from 'Reason' by the talented Nami Tamaki. Yes, its Japanese, and if you haven't figured it out yet that Japanese is pretty much the basis for the Ancient's language, or at least the Dragon's, then SHAME ON YOU!

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

Kai was _not_ happy. He was stuck watching the ongoing battle outside through the hole in the wall near where he was laying. Unable to jump into the fray, just watch it from afar.

"_Great, just bloody great! Everyone else is out there fighting, and I'm stuck in here!"_

Trying to 'reach' out with his senses, Kai was quickly able to get an idea of what was going on. The 'Deathclaws' were doing a grand job at destroying the village. And why shouldn't they? All of the village's warriors were down for the count!

That made Kai's eyes widen.

"_Of course! There is no way that this is a coincidence! Why else would the creatures have waited all this time before attacking? They must have done something to the Red Claws. But the question is what?"_

Closing his eyes, Kai felt four flickers of energy spike. One he was *very* familiar with, having fought it in a heated battle only days earlier at Rocky Falls. But it felt…different this time around. Last time he sensed it, the energy had been fairly constant, like a running faucet. This time however, it was fluctuating between rapid growth and contraction, almost like something was trying to force it in a direction it didn't want to go. Most of the energy, he could feel was tainted, cursed. But there was a tiny portion of it that wasn't, and that tiny portion seemed to be dragging the tainted energy like dog by the leash.

The second one he felt was also somewhat familiar, but not exactly how he remembered it. It almost felt like Nabooru's energy field, but at the same time, he could feel it coming from Marina. The only thing he was able to guess at was that all Gerudo had some common source of energy to draw from. Otherwise Marina had to be drawing power from Nabooru, and there was no way that could be possible with her being thousands of miles away. At least, he didn't think there was.

The third one was weak, but he had sensed it once before, and that was back at Rocky Falls. Unlike the others however, he couldn't sense a single trace of malice or anger behind it. It actually was a very soothing, almost calming presence. It was fairly close to the 'tainted' ones presence, but beyond that he couldn't tell anything else about it.

The last one however was the one that had his attention. It felt so similar to his own energy that it almost seemed to be calling out to him.

"kimi dake wo dakishimetakute nakushita yume kimi wa "akiramenaide" to ittia"

Ignoring the pain flowing through his body, Kai shot up like he had been stung.

"No way, that's not possible."

Looking around, he tried to find the source of the beautiful voice he had just heard, but there were only wounded men as far as the eye could see. Looking to his side, he confirmed that Tsuki was still out cold, so it couldn't have been her.

"_ROSE! Where are you!?"_

Normally she would ignore him when he called out to her, but there had been a few occasions where she deemed a situation important enough to answer his call.

"Yes?"

Whipping his head to the side, he saw Starling looking down at him.

"Star what are you?"

Narrowing his eyes, Kai growled.

"I told you not to do that Rose. Right now though," he was cut off before finishing.

"I am aware of why you called me, but I am afraid that I'm not quite sure where that song came from myself."

Kai frowned at hearing this.

"So it wasn't you?"

Rose shook her head.

"But the only other possibility would be…"

Rose finished the unwanted sentence.

"Piper."

The two of them looked out through the hole in the wall; waiting for what they knew would come next.

"tooku hanareteru hodo ni chikaku ni kanjiteru samishisa mo tsuyosa eto kawatteku…kimi wo omottanara"

Kai's head lowered while Rose continued to stare through the hole in the wall.

"You do know what this means, don't you?" Rose said more than asked.

Kai sighed before nodding.

"Yeah…I know…"

"_Aerrow is going to kill me when this is all over, I know it."_

The second Piper's feet touched the ground; she charged the injured creature before it could heal. She didn't know what it was, but she could have sworn she felt like someone was…around her, touching her, on her. It was like she was a puppet being guided through its motions.

Jumping over the creature, Piper landed in a crouch then brought her right leg out in a sweep kick, knocking the 'Deathclaw' off balance. Continuing the motion to keep the momentum building, she pushed off with her right arm to back flip and put some distance between her and the creature.

"_me w t jite mieru k ra e wo fur zu aruko o w shi u k ara"_

"_That voice, who is it?"_

Bringing her right hand out she deflected the creatures attack with one halve of her broken staff before bringing her left arm around and hitting the creature in the head with the other broken half.

Roaring in pain, the creature brought its free hand up to crush her, only to miss when she ducked under the arm she was holding back. Bringing both halves of her staff around, she slammed them into the creature's side as hard as she could.

_*Crack*_

Wincing slightly, knowing that she had at least cracked a rib, she again put more distance between her and the creature.

"_This is bad, I need to end this fast, I can't keep dodging this thing, its going to get in a lucky hit in eventually."_

"_Then finish it! What's the problem?"_ New Piper asked.

"_Whats the problem? My staff is broken, I'm not a Wallop and I don't have any powers! What the heck am I supposed to do?!"_ Piper demanded.

"_Well, you could fix your staff for starters, have you tried that?"_

Piper scoffed at the idea her 'other' had though up.

"_Lark's the only one that can do that unless you forgot, geeze, if I'm so smart how is it you're so..so…."_

Time stopped.

Literally

Piper looked around and saw that nothing was moving, almost like she was inside of a picture.

"Ok, first of all, I am NOT dumb, neither are you, and you know that!"

Jumping slightly, Piper turned to see 'herself', still wearing 'that' outfit.

Turning red, Piper sputtered.

"WOULD YOU PUT SOME FREAKING CLOTHES ON?!"

'New' Piper rolled her eyes.

"I AM wearing clothes. Not my fault your so self conscious. Oh, and by the way, nice try, but your still YEARS away from being at Kai's level with that little trick. Nice try though, keep at it."

Piper pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Well, since you seem to know everything, tell me, what am I supposed to do?"

'New' Piper just stared at her blankly.

"And don't say 'fix your staff' because we both know that's impossible."

'New' Piper continued to stare at her blankly, causing Piper to scoff.

"Lark is the only one that can do that! She's got those freaky dark powers….well, yeah, she stole those from Kai…Rose, whatever, the point is, only someone with 'Dragon' powers can do that and you know it!" Piper shouted.

As soon as the words left her mouth, realization hit her.

'New' Piper just smiled a small smile before sauntering away from her 'other' self.

"Not bad, and I didn't even have to spell it out for you this time, wonder how long till you're able to figure these things out on your own?"

Piper looked up at her other half, still confused at what she was supposed to do.

"Oh, and Piper, you owe me one for this! I expect you to start dressing better! Show us off girl, or Aerrow wont notice!"

'New' Piper's comment made Piper turn darker than a black cherry, but she couldn't help but feel just *slightly* indebted to her 'other' self.

Time started again, and Piper found herself staring down the charging monster.

Spinning the two halves of her broken staff, Piper ran through the various bits of what she had learned about Kai, and through him, Lark's powers, hoping that her 'other' self was right.

"_Its energy, it's around me, and it's inside me, it's stubborn and wants to be lazy, so I have to force it to do what I want. Ok you stupid energy, FIX MY STAFF!"_

Reaching out with her 'will' she was able to feel something…warm, almost like a static field around her. Focusing, she grabbed onto and forced that energy field around her into her hands, and then through them into her staff.

Flashback

"_Kai, how did you…you know, do that thing with the wings?" Piper asked the still flat on his back Kai._

"_You mean back on terra Gerudo?"_

_Piper nodded._

"_I wanted to block Nabooru, so I just made the wings block her."_

"_But how? I mean, I know I can't do that, but how did you make pure energy into a solid form like that?"_

"_Oh, that? It's kind of hard to explain unless you've done it yourself, the only way I can really describe it is I made it do that. It's like moving you arm around, or walking. It's not something you do WITH your body, you have to move it like it IS part of your body," Kai explained._

Flashback end

"_If what Kai said is right, then it's like a reflex. I don't think about it, I don't concentrate on it, I just have to do it!"_

Bringing her two hands together, she held her staff out in front of her with both hands, and then pulled her left arm back behind her and crouched low into a ready stance.

Sure enough, the staff was now fixed, a single piece instead of two broken halves.

Grinning at her accomplishment, Piper quickly ducked under the creatures swing and nailed it in the chest with her now complete staff, knocking the wind out of it.

Not stopping, she then reversed her stance and swung it around behind her, hitting the creature in the back just as hard.

What she didn't notice was that the sound of her blows was loud enough to be heard across the entire village.

"_Great, I can hurt it now, but that's only going to tick it off even more. And I still need to check up on the others. They might need a hand…what am I saying; of course they need a hand!"_

Feeling a hole opening in the bottom of her stomach, Piper shuddered. She knew what she _had _to do; she just didn't think she would ever _have_ to, not again.

"_It's like back at Rocky Fall's. I don't have any other choice."_

Jumping away from the creature, she twirled the staff around her several times and pulled the crystal energy she felt around her into her staff.

"_At least now I know why Aerrow does all those crazy moves with his daggers, I owe him this one!"_

Seeing the creature rising, she knew her time was almost out.

"Here, it, goes!"

Jumping into the air, she slammed her staff down like a sledge hammer in the direction of the Deathclaw, sending out a whitish blue wave of energy that washed over the creature.

Tigger watched as her friend fought…well, fought wasn't quite the correct word here, dominate would be far more accurate than anything else, the Deathclawy that had been chasing her earlier.

Shadow had an eerily calm expression on her face, almost like she was actually bored and not worried in the least that she was fighting a creature that as far as they could tell only existed to destroy.

Using the flat side of her crystal…executioner's ax, she had hit the creature like it was a baseball into a small grouping of trees, after smacking it around like used basketball for a good solid three minutes.

"**No one hurts my friends and gets away with it."** Shadow said calmly as she pulled back the ax with one arm and threw it towards the group of trees the Deathclaw had fallen into.

Tigger watched in awe as the ax passed through the trees like a hot knife through butter, and then imbed itself into the ground behind the creature.

Looking back at Shadow, she saw her nod towards the direction of the trees, and grin.

"**He's all your Griffy!"**

"Griffy? What are you?" Looking back towards the trees, she saw Griffy charge, leap into the air, then head butt the tree on the outmost edge.

"**TIMBER!"**

Then, like dominos, the tree's knocked over one another until they all collapsed inwards on the Deathclaw, pinning and crushing it at the same time.

Looking back at her friend, Tigger saw her shaking slightly and her hands clinch into fists. Running towards her, she grabbed Shadow by the shoulders and shook her, trying to 'wake' her up.

"Come on Shadow, we're ok, you can stop now!"

Shadow looked at her friend and started blinking rapidly before rolling her head back then forward.

"Ti…gger…what…what happened?"

Before she could say anything, the 'shroud' that had enveloped her friend vanished like it had never been there to begin with, and her ax returned to its original form.

Shaking her head, Tigger grabbed her friend by the arm and started pulling her.

"Come on, we need to help the others, I have an idea but I need your help for it to work!"

Feeling like her arm was going to be pulled out of its socket, Shadow tried to keep up, but she still felt like she had just woke up from a very bad dream just seconds ago.

"Tigger, what's going on? What just happened back there?

Biting her lip, Tigger decided to tell as much of the truth as she could, while at the same time not worry her friend too much.

"I'm not sure myself. But whatever it was, it saved me. Now come on!"

Shadow decided that for now she would have to accept her friend's word, but at the same time, she couldn't shake the uneasy chill going up her spine.

Starling surveyed her surroundings quickly, trying to get a feel for the pace of the battle. For the most part, the Deathclaws were now on the defensive. The scant few villagers that were able to fight had figured out fairly quickly that their claws, while normally effective against most enemy's, were pretty much useless fighting these things.

So, they improvised.

She watched as one of the transformed villagers wielded a roofing rafter like a baseball bat, while another hurled large stones from a house that was under construction.

"_It looks like we have the advantage in numbers and overall fighting ability, but why is it I cant shake this feeling? Something's missing, but what?"_

Sudden movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. What she saw made her face turn white.

"_KAI!"_

Body in motion before she even knew what she was doing, Starling did a small hop before rolling into a forward handspring, throwing herself into the air.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Kai, who had been watching from inside the hole in the wall couldn't have seen the Deathclaw that was on the roof, about to pounce down and attack him, but Starling had, and just in the nick of time too.

Both Kai and the startled Deathclaw looked up in time to see Starling in midair charging up her special move.

Raw crystal power crackled in the air, and pulses of purple energy gathered around her swinging arm into her nun chuck, focusing and condensing into a single tiny point on their surface. Starling then swung the charged weapon downward and nailed the Deathclaw with the force of a stampeding Wallop, stunning it for a brief moment.

Not wasting the little time she had, Starling continued with the movement and landed on her free hand, using it to push herself off and onto her feet behind the towering creature that was using its unclawed hand to hold its head in pain.

"_I don't have enough strength to crush it, but I might be able to…"_

Normally, she wouldn't have liked the train of thought that was going through her head. Truth be told, she had never even considered doing something like this before. But for some reason, right now, it didn't bother her in the least.

With narrowed eyes, the woman jumped into the air once more, this time landing on the creatures back. Wrapping her legs around its waist from behind, she quickly slipped her nun chuck around the creature's neck, twisted it behind its head, and pulled back with every ounce of strength and body weight she could muster.

Kai, who had at least figured out what was going on and had moved to a spot where he could see what was going on, was shocked to say the least.

He was one of the very few people to know that despite how good she was at it, Starling actually hated fighting. She preferred to use skill and finesse to avoid it whenever possible. But right now, she looked almost like, she was enjoying what she was doing.

And _that_ frightened him.

"_What's happening to her? She's never acted like this before!"_

Not sure what to do, Kai was surprised for the second time that day to see HIS ship suddenly appear overhead. Not only that, but the tips of the wing mounted turrets were glowing.

"_They're about to…they don't see Starling!"_

Grabbing onto the frame of the overhang, Kai pulled himself onto the roof and charged towards Starling and the Deathclaw she was fighting.

"Star! Let go! They're going to shoot!"

Instead of letting go, he could have sworn he saw her grip tighten a bit more and her scowl deepen.

Not knowing what else to do, Kai mover behind his friend and quickly struck two pressure points on her back, making her let go.

The Deathclaw dropped to one knee, gasping for breath but Kai didn't even think about trying to fight the beast. He just grabbed Starling by the waist and pulled her off the roof along with himself.

Sure enough, the second they started moving downwards.

_VEEERR PEEAAAR_

Two quick bursts of crystal fire reduced the creature to atoms.

The ship then turned and began firing on the other Deathclaws that remained, quickly reducing their numbers.

_Groan_

"Kai? What were you thinking?!"

Looking up with a very annoyed expression, Kai spoke as calmly as he could.

"I could ask you the same question Star."

The purple haired Sky Knight glared. She didn't know why, but his tone and expression seemed to sting her.

"I was TRYING to save your life you ungrateful." She was stopped by his shocked expression.

"SAVE ME!? Star you almost broke that things neck! I could hear the bones starting to give! What the heck happened to you!? Your face looked like mine when I found that Arygyn Voodoo doll!"

Starling blinked, and then blinked again. But before she could even try to answer his question, a cough followed by a clearing through caught their attention.

"I'm not disturbing anything am I?"

Kai looked up to see Majah looking down at them with a small smile and a raised eyebrow.

"What are you talking abo.." Kai looked back, and saw that in their fall, Starling had (most likely out of reflex) maneuvered herself so that she wouldn't land flat on her back.

Resulting in Kai landing on his.

And her on top of him like a cat falling out of a tree.

The two figured this out at about the exact same time, resulting in her rolling off to the side 'gracefully' and back on to her feet, and Kai….

Well, Kai sputtered and cursed at the old man for even thinking such a thing.

"Kai! Are you alright!"

All three looked around for the voice, only to find it by looking up?

Sure enough, floating above them was Kai's ship with the landing ramp lowered and Shadow waving down at them.

"Shadow? What the…that was you!?"

The ship moved around a bit before landing in front of the 'hospital' which now seemed to be the meeting point of the villagers.

Kai, Starling, and Majah made their way through the crowd of people that had surrounded the ship, and found Tigger, Shadow, and surprisingly, Radaar standing proudly at the bottom of the landing ramp.

"Ok, so that's three, where are the other two?" Majah asked with his usual 'grouchy' voice.

"Here and here!" A very pleased and familiar voice called out.

Turning, Kai saw Marina strolling her way towards them with one arm around Piper's shoulder. She was grinning widely and seemed to be carrying something very large with her other hand.

Kai felt a sudden wave of sickness wash over him as she got closer, while Starling, who seemed to be on the same brainwave, spoke for them both.

"Marina, please tell me that's not…"

If anything, Marina's grin just got larger.

"You bet it is! You didn't think I would go back home without getting me at least ONE souvenir did you?"

Starling shook her head, while Shadow and Tigger, who had been watching suddenly, covered their mouths and turned away.

Piper seemed to be taking it in stride, that or her mind was so far away she wasn't even registering what was less than a few feet from her.

Kai, like Shadow and Tigger turned away.

Griffy and Radarr however…

"Oh dear ga!? MY SHOES!"

Marina frowned at the others reactions. The villagers themselves didn't seem to not mind it very much…well, aside from the two that now had 'Cambles chunky soup' covering their footwear. But she guessed that they just had a similar set of customs.

"What?"

With his back still turned to her, Kai spoke.

"Marina, that THING is NOT coming onto my ship!"

Instead of giving up her new 'trophy' the redhead just shrugged. "You're free to try and stop me. But next time, what I bring on board might be ever worse."

"_What could be worse that a severed han…she wouldn't!"_ Whipping his head around, Kai paled when he saw her grin.

"_She would."_

"Fine, but put it in a bag or something….and keep it out of sight!" Kai shouted.

"Will do, captain!" Marina said cheerily as she tossed up her 'trophy' into the air, and caught it.

Kai shuddered, now knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had let a madwoman onboard his ship, but accepted it given how much she had helped them in the past.

"Now that we have that all sorted out. Would someone explain to me what just happened?" Majah asked carefully.

Piper was the one to answer his not so obvious question. Or rather, all of them.

"It was a test. A first strike to see what kind of resistance the village had left."

"Left? You mean those things knew about the Red Claws?" Majah asked skeptically.

Piper, seeing the looks of the people returning to the 'unfriendly' glares from before, walked up to the old man and asked if there was somewhere they could speak privately.

Several minutes later, the group, along with Majah, Kanin, and two men they hadn't met before were standing around a moderately large single story wooden house. It looked like something out of the dark ages, but it wasn't half bad.

"Now, would you mind explaining what you meant by 'testing' the villages strength?"

Piper swallowed before stepping into the middle of the large room. Everyone else was leaning against one of the walls, but she decided that she needed to appear as confident and respectful as she could here. Knowing that they weren't going to like what she had to say.

"The reason I said that it was a test, was because it wouldn't make sense otherwise. Those creatures were smaller than the one we fought earlier. They also seemed to be a bit…dumber too. That makes me thing that they were younger and less experienced."

"Wait a minute, why are we even listening to a _girl_ who can't even be sixteen?"

Kai snorted.

"She might be young, but her mind is sharper than Kayleghs tongue. Its one of the reasons I recruited her to help me. Now shut up, I'm trying to listen."

Rondana and Marina were the only ones that seemed to notice that the younger male actually _listened_ to Kai's order of shutting up without giving it a second thought. Both knew that there was a bit more going on than they had been told, but decided to file it away for later.

"But why send in your youngest fighters for something like that?" Kai asked. Genuinely curious about what she had to say.

Piper turned to face him when she answered.

"Because they are expendable, that's why."

That one sentence made the room become several times larger it seemed.

"Wait a minute. You think that there are _more_ of those things out there?" Kanin asked, knowing that no one wanted to hear the answer, despite already knowing it.

"Yes, I think there are more, a lot more."

"What did the book say?" Kai asked, figuring that she must be drawing her theories from somewhere other than just blind guessing.

He was surprised to see Piper's face turn an odd shade of green.

"It said that…this terra was a drop off point for…failed experiments. They were brought here to be studied and then destroyed afterwards."

The group's eyes widened, but Kai's were for a different reason.

"_She knows!?"_

"I think they somehow survived, and multiplied over the years. I don't know why they just started appearing now after all this time, but it's the only explanation for why so many would exist, and why no one from your village has seen them before, and why Kai doesn't know anything about them."

Marina pushed herself off from the wall and looked over at Majah. "Have there been any Atmostquakes lately? Even just a very small one?"

"Yes, about a month ago there was a tremor, it's why I have been away. I was investigating to see if it had caused any major damage to any of our sister villages or tribal sights. I was just on my way back when I ran into you," Kanin replied.

Marina pinched the bridge of her nose.

"There's your answer. The same thing happened about a year ago on terra Gerudo. Only it was a sudden rise in Peahats that were…different than normal. I'll bet that the lab we're looking for was sealed, but the quake opened or at least loosened the seal enough for them to break free," Marina said knowingly.

"Ok, say your theory is correct, and these things are the decedents of failed genetic experiments that somehow survived for several thousand years. Why are they attacking the village? And what does this have to do with the Red Claws?" Rondana asked, trying to keep things moving.

Piper bit her lip.

"I think that…I think that the Red Claws were poisoned, and that this was a test to see if the village still had any capable fighters left. I don't know why they would attack the village though. It doesn't really serve any purpose that I can see."

"NO PURPOSE! How is an open declaration of war meaningless!?"

"You will hold you tongue Kanin, or I will remove it for you so you can do so literally," Marina threatened.

Trying to keep things from heating up any further, Piper continued.

"What I mean is, there is no real value or reason to take your village. It has nothing unique about it, it has no apparent defensive value and gives no real advantage in wasting the time, effort, or power to do so. If your Red Claw's had been able to help us, it wouldn't have taken a quarter of the time it did for us to repel them. Look at it from a strategic stand point. What I am assuming to be your best fighters are out of the picture, aside from them you have only a few guards and a bunch of woman that have never even struck a fly, let alone fought. You're almost completely defenseless. Heck, I'd actually bet a good sized bag of gold that had we not been here, you wouldn't be breathing right now."

"_Telling them what they asked, telling them what they need, and at the same time rubbing some salt in their wounds. Not bad Piper, I'll be free in no time at this rate,"_ 'New' Piper said with a smirk as she watched from the depths of Piper's mind.

"That being the case, what should we do? If we all go and try to find the lab, the village will get overrun. But if we stay here, then they will just keep coming and coming until we are eventually worn down," Tigger said pushing her glasses up.

"I don't like it, but our only chance is to split up. Most of us need to stay here and try to buy the other group as much time as possible and draw as much attention as we can," Piper said looking suddenly gloomy.

"We? Piper, your one of the best candidates for the lab group, shouldn't you," Shadow was cut off by Piper.

"NO!" Seeing everyone's shocked expression at her outburst, she explained, while at the same time looking away from the others.

"I…have issues with enclosed spaces. I'm alright as long as I can see the sky, but in a cave…"

Kai narrowed his eyes for a moment and took a whiff of the air.

She was being mostly honest, but at the same time he could detect that there was more to it than a simple case of claustrophobia.

"Alright, if Piper's staying, that means I have to go."

"What? Kai, you can't be serious. You're still healing, and you're in no condition to fight right now," Starling said with a deadpan tone.

Closing his eyes, Kai smirked. "Uh, Star, unless anyone else here can read Ancient, you've got no other choice. I might not be able to read it as well as Piper can, but I've dealt with enough of these things to know what to watch out for. Besides, the only other expert dungeon diver we have is Marina, and she needs to be here to help the others."

Marina didn't even try to object to that point. It was no secret that despite all of the others abilities and powers, she was by far the best fighter they had. She was almost as strong as Junko and was as good with her blades as Aerrow. Added to that she was almost as knowledgeable about crystals as Piper. Nearly half the Storm Hawks skills and abilities rolled up into one person was a nice thing to have when trying to hold of an army.

"Ok, so Piper and Marina are out. There is no way Shadow or Tigger can go, and I would hope your not thinking of taking our medic with you. Who else are you planning to take with you?"

Kai grinned. "No one. I can, and have done this kind of thing on my own before, remember?"

Starlings jaw must have hit someone on the other side of the globe.

"You're injured, and have next to no power left in you, and you expect m, us to just let you go off to your death? Forget it, I'm coming with you."

Kai almost fell over on his face.

"WHAT?! Star it's a suicide mission! You can't expect me to…."

Starling's glare seemed to burn a hole right through him. There was no need for words, but everyone present _knew_ they would be spoken later.

"I will accompany you as well. I refuse to allow my peoples lives to be in the hands of a Mad Claw and a _woman_," Kanin said stepping forward.

"Then it is agreed. Kanin will accompany you two and the rest of us will mount a defense until you are able to destroy these creatures hive."

Everyone (other than Kai, Kanin, and Starling) gapped at Majah.

"YOU'RE THE CHIEF!?"

Majah covered his laugh with a cough while Kanin rolled his eyes. Starling and Kai however seemed to be having a 'glare match' with neither side willing to give in.

"Ok you two; you'll have plenty of time to stare at each other later. Right now we need to get you set up for this mission." Rondana said grabbing Kai by the arm and dragging him away. Marina did the same with Starling, while the others respectfully bowed and left for the ship.

The walk to the ship was a quiet one. None of the group wanted to say anything given the recent revelation of their friends attempt at 'something stupid', but at the same time, no one was able to find a suitable distraction.

Kai entered the ship first, followed by the others, but as soon as Starling entered she found herself being led to the cockpit instead of the storage area.

"Starling, we need to talk," Rondana said crossing her arms in front of her. Behind her was Marina, blocking the only exit from the ships cockpit, and standing in the same stance as her comrade.

"Alright Kai, since your already in pretty bad shape, you'll need to avoid direct combat as much as possible. So I suggest you use ranged…hey, Kai? Hello! Are you listening to me?" Tigger was growing extremely aggravated with the boy. With each passing terra she felt more and more out of place, not having been able to help directly a single time, and not really doing anything other than fix the ship. Along with that, she had to endure seeing her closest friend be subjected to a horrible curse not once, but TWICE in only a few days. Then there was all the issues with Kai, which could easily fill several medical journals (at least that's what Rondana had told her) and now to top it all off, he was ignoring her.

"Kai, I swear if you don't start AH!" Tigger jumped and let out a startled squeak as gears started groaning loudly from the wall Kai was facing.

"If you think I'm going to spend the next week fixing whatever you broke you've got another thing coming buster!"

Kai looked over at her with a small smirk as he pushed in what looked like an ordinary section of wall with one hand.

The result was the wall suddenly lowering into the ground and another wall rising up like a draw bridge behind it. Tigger and Shadow were gobsmacked, but Piper's breath hitched at the sight.

"No"

Everyone present was too fixated on the sight to notice Piper's reaction, but instead of pride (like Kai) amazement (Shadow) or grinning at possibilities (Tigger) her face wore an expression of fear and dread.

"Not bad eh Tigger? I dug this little beauty up a few months back on my last little trip to an Ancients tech lab."

Held in place onto the wall by several straps crisscrossing its frame, was a gleaming black and red suit of armor.

"Kai, is that…that's not a…"

Looking up, Kai noticed Piper's worried expression, or to be more exact, her focus on the inert purple crystal lodged in the center of the armors chest piece.

"Yeah, it's a Medulla crystal Piper. One of the rarest and most powerful crystals in existence."

"Kai, why didn't you destroy that thing? Do you have any idea what it is? Do you know what it will do if you try to pilot it?" She hissed.

Shaking his head, Kai reached out and grabbed the crystal with one hand.

Immediately, the crystal glowed and came to life, pulsating like a heartbeat.

"Piper, you disappoint us. Surely you don't think I would use something without understanding it did you?" Kai's voice sounded strange. Not like when he used the Shadow crystal, but it was an odd reverberation to it.

Piper took a step back, prompting Kai to twist the crystal and pull it free from the armor.

"Here, if it makes you so nervous, then you hold on to it. But don't even think about trying to destroy it. If you do, you owe me another one alright?"

Piper blinked, and then scowled. "I thought you had respect for these Ancient _things_ enough to know not to treat them like toys! Do you even have any idea at all what that thing is!?

Kai held the crystal out to her with one hand, almost like he was giving her a peace offering.

"Yes, I do, but at the same time, I know how far to take things," Kai stated calmly.

"The Suit of Untold Vengeance is NOT a toy! It shouldn't even exist anymore! We destroyed it! I ground this crystal into dust myself!"

"_Looks like I touched on a nerve there. Better set things straight,"_ Kai thought.

"First of all Piper, this is NOT an S.U.V."

Piper looked at Kai like he had just asked her what two plus two equaled.

Sighing, Kai wrapped one arm around her shoulders and moved her closer to the armored suit.

"While the S.U.V was a formidable weapon, it had far too many drawbacks to be considered a true success. I still wonder why the Ancients saw fit to mass produce the thing. They must have been out of their minds."

Piper's eyes widened.

"MASS PRODUCED!"

Tigger and Shadow, neither of whom had seen an S.U.V, but had heard the story at one point or another took a step away from the contraption.

"Yeah, didn't know that did you? I found a lot of them a while back. Hundreds of them as far as the eye could see. I'm not sure what the terra's name was though, I'd have to check my records. I think it was Pence or something like that."

Piper looked over at Kai to see if he was joking, but she could see that he was honestly telling the truth, which made her shiver.

"You mean there are more of these things?" Tigger asked, wondering if she could get a hold of one to take apart in her free time.

"Given the number of them I found? Probably yes. But what would lead a group of people to construct, let alone mass produce such a fueled inefficient lumbering beast is beyond me." Seeing Piper about to speak, Kai continued. "It might be able to outrun a skimmer, but it can't outfly one. It has no turning or maneuverability what so ever. I also found by…accident that it only takes a relatively weak blow to the crystal chamber to set one off like a firecracker."

"How did you find that out?" Shadow asked stepping forward to get a better look at the armor, and noting that it seemed Kai had personalized this thing quite a bit. It had some very ornate engraving on it, and, as far as she could tell, was expert level craftsmanship.

Kai grinned nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Well…I kinda sorta…accidently shot one because I thought it was some creature about to jump me. When I found the chamber they were buried in, there was one right there at the entrance. I shot it, and it went up with a big, and rather entertaining boom."

Tigger and Shadow snickered a bit, but Piper only seemed to be put slightly at ease.

"If it's not an S.U.V, then what is it?" Piper asked with her usual serious and no nonsense tone.

Now that she was standing right in front of it, she was able to tell that it was roughly similar to an S.U.V, but at the same time, it was very much different. It didn't tower above them, actually, it couldn't even stand on its own. She only thought it could because her sight was focused on the crystal when she first saw it.

The S.U.V was an armored vehicle that a person climbed into and piloted. This thing was closer to appearing, and apparently functioning like an actual suit of armor. It consisted only of an armored chest piece, two gauntlets that went from the wrists to the elbows, a pair of boots that were about knee level in height, and a set of…

"Are those wings?" Piper asked, reaching out towards the strange pieces on each side.

"Yes and no," Kai answered.

Piper glared at the older teen, causing him to smile a bit.

"_He's trying to calm me down,"_ Piper realized.

"They are worn like wings, but they don't really give you much in the way of flying ability. It more of less lets you jump _really_ far, or hover in place. But no, not fly."

"You still haven't answered my first question. What is it?" Piper asked, trying to get back to the point. If there WAS a point that is.

"From what scant little information I could dig up, it's called the: Interconnected Neural Powered Omni Response Tactical Suit. It was built by one of the other groups of Ancients that the creators of the S.U.V were at war with," Kai explained.

"So…if it was mass produced just like the S.U.V, why don't you just call it an I.N.P.O.R.T?" Tigger asked bluntly.

"Because the full name sounds cooler," Kai said with a completely deadpan expression.

All three girls rolled their eyes at that, Piper even muttered something about boys with their vehicle obsessions.

"Anyways, it should keep me safe through this mission. I just wish the darn thing actually COULD fly like the S.U.V can," Kai muttered.

"Oh my lor…Kai! Are you pouting?" Tigger asked, barely able to suppress her laughing at seeing the older teens face.

"I am not pouting, I just…was testing to see if the muscles in my lower jaw were working, that's all," Kai defended.

"When we get out of here, I could take a look at it for you if you want me to," Tigger offered. To her this would at least give her SOMETHING to do outside of repairing the ship. She still couldn't help but wonder why Kai had asked her to join in the first place. But knowing him, he must have something planed for later…

Kai seemed to do a one eighty at hearing her request, and perked up like Finn at the candy store.

"Thank you!" Kai shouted with a wide beaming grin.

"Hey! You kids ready or what? We need to try to get some kind of defenses for this backwater hole in the wall of a terra ready before the next wave of Deathclaws decides to attack!" Marina shouted from outside the hanger.

Kai turned to the girls and grinned. "Sorry kids, but looks like mommy said play times over. Could you give me a hand with this thing?" He asked motioning towards the newly christened I.N.P.O.R.T.

At the back of the ship, a very annoyed Kanin watched an equally annoyed Starling. The difference between them however was that Starling was also sporting what appeared to be a sunburn on her face and was muttering under her breath about people needing to mind their own business, especially when they didn't know what they were talking about in the first place.

A hiss and groaning sound told them that the rear hatch of the ship was lowering and to get out of the way.

First came Shadow, Tigger and Piper, each with their weapons in hand, several belts with crystals hanging by hooks attached to them and bandoleers with various charge crystals crisscrossing their chests.

"Where is," before Starling could say the name, they heard the sound of metal on metal marching towards them.

"Hey Star, like the new me?" Kai asked, holding out his arms to show off the armor a bit.

Starling just gave her former ward her usual bored expression before turning to Piper.

"Any idea where we will find the lab?"

Kai actually DID pout at the lack of ANY reaction out of her, but then again, she had known him for quite a few years, and was most likely now immune to being surprised by anything he did.

"If it was uncovered by a tremor, then your best bet would be to search near a mountain or a canyon. Kanin, are there any of those near us?" Piper asked.

Kanin closed his eyes in concentration for several moments before opening them again and nodding.

"Yes, the Lunar canyon is not too far from here. Only a days run in human form. Not sure if the _woman_ will be able to keep up, or Kai with that…contraption of his though," Kanin jabbed.

Kai growled, but kept it low enough that he though no one would hear it.

Marina smirked and shook her head, but said nothing to the boy. This was his problem to deal with, just as it had been from the start. The only reason she stepped in with Rondana was to level the playing field so to speak.

"This 'contraption' as you call it is just as fast as you, and I know for a fact that Starling can _easily_ keep up with me, so I would remind you that until we get back, the two of us are the _only_ things that _might_ help you out of a jam," Kai threatened.

"Both of you, enough!" Starling ordered with her 'in charge' voice.

"Kai, we can't use our skimmers because there are too many trees, are you sure that you will not slow us down with that…armor of yours?"

Piper stepped forward and actually vouched for him, surprising both him and Starling.

"Starling, I checked it out myself. If anything he should be able to run faster with it than without it. He'll do fine."

The older woman studied the armor clad teen for a moment before taking a deep breath, and turning to Kanin.

"Very well, Kanin, we need for you to lead us to the Lunar canyon. Can you take us there?"

The white haired young man nodded before turning and walking towards one of the village's gates, Starling following at a discrete distance. Kai turned back to the others with a grin before following.

"Ya'll be careful till we get back you hear!?" Kai shouted as he started towards Kanin and Starling.

"You too! And remember to behave while you're with Starling out there!" Rondana shot back.

Kai actually DID trip over his feet and fall at that one, but quickly got to his feet and caught up to the other two.

Shadow turned towards the taller teen with an impish grin. "So you did see what happened before we landed?"

Rondana scoffed before reaching into her flight suit and pulling out a Kodak crystal.

"In politics, one quickly learns that when opportunity is spotted, action must be taken," Rondana replied with an equally playful smile.

"Ok girls, there'll enough time to pick on the lad when he gets back, but for now we got work to do," Marina said trying (unsuccessfully) to snatch the Kodak crystal from the younger girls hand.

Chapter 20 end

AN: And there you have it! Chapter twenty is now finished! This marks the halfway point for the complete Winds of Change series, and a turning point in the dynamics of the story. I now have SOME level of confidence (read as very, very little) in writing mild romance. What does this mean you ask? Well, it means several things. First, you will now see a change in how the team treats some (read as two) of its members. Second, you will get a taste of a whole different brand of humor on my part, and lastly, the block that was preventing me from writing TDT has been lifted! I didn't feel comfortable at the time writing romance, and while I still don't, I at least CAN to a degree. And since we know romance plays an important part in the latter half of TDI it stands to reason that it will be important in the latter parts of TDT as well.

Also, yes, the whole joke about the SUV and Import was a bit of a car joke, but there are some key differences between the two. I DO have a DA account, I've just never used it. That might change in the near future however as I will TRY to do a few works of various sorts. Can't promise that it will be soon, good, or even ever will happen, only that I will try. Also, just as a heads up, yes, the I.N.P.O.R.T is one of the things I had planned from the beginning that Nerd Corps beat me to the punch in getting out. It is one of the four 'armored suits' I have in this series, the second one to be shown to be exact. You've already seen the first one in action a few chapters back *grins* the last two will be a bit later down the road though. While the S.U.V is nothing more than a repainted copy of White Glint from Armored Core 4Answer, the INPORT is loosely based on the Epyon Gundam, but only the torso and wings, the rest is my design.

That's all I have for now, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and that it wasn't too random or all over the place. I don't have a name for the next chapter yet, but I think I'm going to end book II at around chapter 22 or 23, ending with this terra. Book III will start with the next terra and will cover two additional terra, then book IV will be the last terra. Why an entire book for one terra? You'll have to wait and see. But as Kai always says, 'Trust me.'

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	21. Problems, Pains and Poisons!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 21: Problems, Pains and Poisons!

AN: Ok, I'm back! This chapter, like a few of my others will be a bit of a rollercoaster, but, it will be different regarding the 'temperament'. This is my first serous attempt at writing something…romantic esq. I've been practicing with my Digimon fics, but this is my first 'dive' into the strange, confusing, and all around annoying world of romantic writing, so I ask that you bare with me as I try too feel my way around in the dark here. I only have the most basic of understanding in writing this, and that comes from reading other peoples work.

Oh, and don't forget check out Arashi21's profile for his work as well as a few that we are joint writing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda or the 'Deathclaws'. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Nintendo and Bethsaida (I think) however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, Kanin, Tsuki, Majah and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

Kai narrowed his eyes in annoyance at the red clad form of Kanin as he once again leapt up onto a high branch and jumped from tree to tree.

"_He's doing this on purpose, I know it,"_ Kai thought as he watched the 'Werewolf' leap ahead by another twenty meters.

Since they had left the village a little over an hour ago, the young warrior had made it a point to keep as much distance between himself and the other two as possible. Only staying within sight, but far enough away to be a nuisance.

"_Come on Star, where are you."_ Kai's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy breathing coming from behind.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Starling come out from behind one of the thousands of identically dead tree's that littered the terra, obviously out of breath.

He knew that she was in top shape, but there was still one unarguable fact, and that was that she was _human_. That meant she had limitations as far as endurance and stamina were concerned that Kanin didn't. Kai himself was only able to keep up because of his powered armor suit.

Two level five Nimbus crystals in the boots gave him jumping capabilities close to Kanin's 'natural' (if being a six foot seven sliver furred Werewolf is considered normal) abilities.

"Star, if you need to stop, I can get Kanin to…"

"No….don't….bother…with….him," Starling cut him off between breaths.

"Star, you can't keep this up. You'll wear yourself out. Kanin said that its still a ways off, you won't be able to help us much if you can barely stand," Kai pointed out, feeling bad for his friend.

Taking a deep breath, Starling glared at him.

"I am _fine_ Kai, you need to stop worrying about _me_ and focus on the _mission_. If you can't keep your priorities straight, then you'll never be able to work effectively in a team," Starling lectured.

"_Even when she's exhausted, she can find the strength to patronize me,"_ Kai chuckled mentally.

"_Still…this is going to be a problem. What can we do to…"_ Kai remembered something similar to this happening back quite some years ago, but now the roles had been reversed. He and Starling had been exploring terra Mesa, but had gone just a bit too far out. Since he was younger and smaller than her at the time, Kai had tired out quicker, and needed a hand getting back home.

Coughing into his hand to hide the pink tinge spreading across his face, Kai turned away from his friend.

"Star…I…uh…would you like…I mean, if you wanted, I could give you a hand," Kai offered, making sure that he was facing away from her.

Rising an eyebrow, Starling crossed her arms and leaned against a nearby tree. Though she didn't say it, she was grateful for the short respite to catch her breath.

"And just what did you have in mind?"

"Well….remember back when we were kids…and…" swallowing, Kai continued. "Remember when we found those old mines?"

Starling's eyes narrowed, trying to figure what her ex-apprentice was getting at.

"_The mines? That was years ago, what is he…oh…OH,"_ Starlings eyes widened just a tiny bit.

"Kai, I don't think that would be a good idea," Starling replied as level as she could.

Still not turning to face her, he tried again.

"If you keep this up, there's a good chance that you'll get hurt Star. It was hard enough to fight those things at full strength; do you want to risk fighting a cave full of them when you're worn out?" Kai countered.

"_He's right about that….but still…I don't like this."_ Starling weighed the two options out. On the one hand, Kai was right about her needing to conserve her energy. She was pushing herself as it was, and she doubted that she could keep up a pace like this for much longer.

On the other hand though…

"Forget about it, it was a stupid idea. Sorry to bring it up," Kai said before starting to move out.

Biting her lip, Starling balled her fists and let out a sigh of frustration.

"Wait a second. Kai, it's not a…stupid idea. It….it…actually would make a lot of sense."

Swallowing nervously, Kai waited.

Moving towards her friend, Starling placed one hand on his shoulder.

"Do…you think you can do it? I mean, it wouldn't be too much trouble would it?" She asked slightly flustered.

Kai shook his head.

"No, not really. Not as long as I got this thing on…err…uh; I wouldn't be a problem, no, not at all. Just…what do you want to do?"

Thinking for a moment, Starling groaned. "I guess I'll go for the back. It would be awkward for you to try…the other way."

Nodding, Kai dropped to one knee, still facing away from her.

Not needing an invitation, and knowing that the situation was just as uncomfortable for him as it was for her, Starling wrapped her arms around his neck. As soon as he felt her grip was secure, Kai stood up and reached out to grab hold of the outsides of her legs, and secured them to his sides.

"Hang on."

It was the only warning she got before he took off running at top speed into the 'dead' forest.

When he jumped for the first time, Starling closed her eyes. It wasn't that she was afraid of heights, far from it. But the long jumps made her feel nauseous. Going up about ten or so feet, then coming back down with a thud was not easy when you were piggy backing someone. She mused that it wouldn't be as bad had she been jumping like this herself, but hanging onto someone's back like a piece of luggage while they were doing it felt like riding a skimmer with a busted transmission.

"_I can't remember the last time I got motion sickness this bad,"_ Starling thought to herself as she tightened her grip slightly. Since they had started, Starling had gone from slightly nervous to feeling queasy and nauseous.

"_I think…I'm coming down sick…"_ Starling thought as she started feeling hotter than the overcast weather could be blamed for.

Kai wasn't doing much better himself.

He had always prided himself on being able to 'keep his head in the game'. But right now, a rather annoying voice (that ironically sounded a lot like Ayrgyn) was causing him quite a bit of grief.

"_Aw, how cute. Nice job by the way. Didn't think you'd ever get the guts to try something like that."_

Scowling, Kai ignored the voice as best he could.

"_Her arms around your neck, you holding onto her by the legs. You can even feel her breath on your neck cant you? Tisk tisk tisk, what was that oath of yours? Something about mission first, others second, self last? Looks like you managed to flip the order around and keep it the same at the same time. Gotta give you points there kid."_

Scowl deepening, Kai decided to give this Ayrgyn a piece of his mind. Something he had never been able to do with the real one.

"_Shut up! This was to help her! I don't want her getting killed out here!"_

"_Oh sure, sure, I know. But face it, your not exactly finding this to be torture are you? You're enjoying it, admit it!"_

"…_So what if I am? Nothing will come of it, so it doesn't matter. Neither of us have time to waste on something like that, with each other or anyone else. So it's not worth even considering,"_ Kai said forcefully.

"_Oh, I don't know. You've seen plenty of other people juggle the two. Why should you be any different?"_

"_We're different because those people don't have the same responsibilities we do. The mission comes first, before ANYTHING else. We're in a war, and when your fighting, sentiments and emotions only cause you more pain that anything else."_

"_Oh? Then what about when the mission is over? When the war ends? What about then?"_

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"_My mission ends when my life ends. Besides, she holds nothing of the sort for me. You're wasting your breath, and my time. Be gone annoyance."_

Landing, Kai looked around, trying to catch a hint of where Kanin had gone off too. Seeing a large figure jump in the distance, he followed it. Keeping the mission as his sole focus, and ignoring the feeling of Starling's face in the crook of his neck, and blocking out the lavender scent he knew was hers.

Piper groaned.

"This is hopeless," she muttered under her breath.

She had hoped that the woman of the village would be able to lend a hand, but none of them we even willing to look her in the eye. It was like they were afraid of her for some reason.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder Piper spun around on reflex, coming face to face with the gentle smile of Majah.

"Things not working out the way you had hoped?" He asked knowingly.

Piper looked away to hide her sour expression.

"They won't even look at me, no way they'd listen to anything I have to say. We don't have a prayer of pulling this off on our own. We need help!" Piper growled.

Majah shook his head sadly. "It is our way Piper. The women of our village have never fought before; they are used to the men handling that, along with the hunting."

Piper glared at the old man, but he didn't seem to be phased by it in the least. She could have sworn that there was a flicker of mirth burning in his tired old eyes.

"We're going to be fighting creatures that are more than a match for your _best_ fighters, and all we have to work with is me, the rest of the crew, ten guards, and a dozen or so guys. Not exactly the kind of odd's I would be willing to bet my life on," Piper said dryly.

"What would you suggest then?" Majah asked curiously.

Sighing, Piper looked at the village around them, and shook her head. "The best thing I could think of would be a tactical retreat. To abandon the village and try to regroup somewhere to launch a counter attack. But we don't have the time or the resources to do that. All we can do…is fight to the last man…and hope that a miracle happens. Otherwise, we're going to be the Deathclaw's diner," Piper said with a shrug.

Majah's face scrunched up in confusion.

"How can you say that so easily?"

Piper laughed dryly. "When you're used to putting your neck on the line, the thought of death really doesn't seem as frightening as it once did. You get used to it after a while. I can't even tell you how many times I've almost died just on this mission alone," she said matter-of-factly.

Her gaze settled on the rather ornate armband on Majah's right arm. Thinking back, she remembered seeing Kanin having one very similar himself.

"_Come to think of it….all the males in the village have them,"_ Piper though as she stared at the armband.

It was made of cloth, but it was made up of many thick bands of cloth woven together. Majah's was mostly dark blue, but it had a decorative red design that ran along the outside edges.

"What are those for?" Piper asked, pointing at Majah's forearm.

Majah smiled. "These are for when we need them," he replied with a shrug.

"Need them? Need them for what?" Piper asked, focusing intently on the mans face. She could tell that there was something else at play here, something big.

"Piper, what do you know about Werewolves?" Majah asked thoughtfully.

That caught Piper off guard.

"_Werewolves? Where did that come from? Ok, think Piper. What did those old books used to say about them? Big, strong, claws, allergic to silver, transform wherever there is a full moon….wait a minute, I saw some of them transform during the raid, but it was broad daylight. How could they have…the armbands! That must be it!"_

"I know a little, but I'm not sure how your guards were able to transform during broad daylight, unless that thing about the full moon is bogus," Piper said casually, not wanting to 'tip her hand' quite yet.

Majah nodded, impressed by the girls keen perception.

"You are correct Piper. We do require Lunar rays from the full moon to transform, but we have found…ways of getting around that," as he spoke, Majah removed his arm band and held it out towards Piper.

Still trying to figure out where this was all going, but at the same time intrigued, Piper took the armband in hand and examined it more closely. She had been right, it was made of some sort of cloth, but there was something else. In the middle of the cloth, about half the size of her palm was a hard lump.

Turning it around, she found a strip of cloth that ran from the inside of the armband and stuck out of one end by just a tiny bit. It was frayed, apparently from being pulled or tugged frequently over the years.

Pinching the cloth strip, Piper pulled on it, and was surprised to see a whitish grey glow come from inside the armband. Turning it inside out, she found the source of the glow.

A Lunar crystal.

Looking back up at Majah, Piper's eyes widened.

"Of course! That's it!" Tossing the armband at Majah, Piper took off for the medical cabin that the others were staying in. She had been looking for something, ANYTHING to use to build a plan around, and now,

She had it.

Majah chuckled as he folded the cloth strip back into place before turning the armband right side in again, and slipped over his hand.

"Smart girl, it didn't take her as long as I thought it would," Majah said before walking off towards the main gate with a smile.

"_I can't believe I'm doing this,"_ Starling thought with a groan. She was a highly trained Special Forces operative, she was a flight lead and commander of the Interceptors, she was a highly decorated war hero.

She was piggyback riding her childhood friend.

If she looked deep enough, she was sure that she would find some 'divine reason' of 'lesson' to learn from the experience. She just hopped that it wasn't that destiny, fate, chance, luck or whatever higher powers there were DID have a sense of humor. Oddly, Finn came to mind when she considering that train of thought.

At first she had just felt a little bit ill, but that gradually went away.

Sadly, it was replaced with something that in her opinion was far worst.

Fluster

For the last thirty minutes, she had been hanging onto her friend like a backpack as he ran and jumped through the wood like some kind of armor clad Tarzan.

Her queasy feeling had settled once she pressed her head into the crook of his neck to try and block out the sight of the ground beneath them. Of course, while she could no longer see anything, she could still hear, feel and smell.

The first thing that had assaulted her senses was smell. She knew that Kai had a scent; she remembered it vaguely from when they were younger, when she would hold him at night if he had a nightmare or if it was an especially cold night. But now….now it was different. It was not a 'foul' odor, but it was far stronger than she remembered it being. There was the familiar mix of air and earth, but there was also just a touch of ash, like the remains of a campfire one woke up to in the morning. It was a warm, almost comforting smell.

She unintentionally rubbing her head into the crook of his neck as she tried to block out _that_ line of thinking, however, she only seemed to make her predicament worse.

Her head was now close enough to him that she could actually hear his breathing.

She knew that the suit was doing a majority of the work, but she could still hear his deep intakes and exhales. It was a calming rhythm that she found to be oddly soothing. She actually had to fight to keep herself alert and fight off the drowsy fog clouding her mind. Not wanting to risk falling, she tightened her grip with both her arms and thighs. It was just a slight bit, but the added contact proved to be the final 'pin' in the cushion. She was now not only able to feel his breathing, but also his muscles at they moved beneath her securely locked limbs.

Again, she felt it. His chest might have been covered by armor, but his back had only an X strap going from the hips to the shoulders holding it in place. Every time he jumped she could feel the muscles in his back move. She didn't know why, but this flustered her more than _anything_ else. She could take his scent, she could take the sounds of his breathing, but this was just too much.

"_WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! SNAP OUT OF IT!"_

Mentally she was pounding herself mercilessly, but it didn't seem to be helping matters in the least.

"_Pull yourself together! You're a soldier! There is a mission at hand; there is no time for this!"_

Her thoughts were jarred when they hit the ground from Kai's previous jump. She actually felt the muscles in his back stretch and roll under her.

Groaning mentally, she felt her face heating up.

"_This is wrong, wrong, wrong! He's my friend, and this is a mission not a date!" _

Starling was not blind, she knew that Kai far from _ugly_, and that he had in the past dated around a bit, but she doubted that he had done anything of the sort in over a year.

"_Not like I can say anything though, it's been…what, five? Six years since I ever bothered trying?"_

Eyes widening, Starling and to fight to not fall off from her position.

"_Where the blazes did that come from! Why do I care how long its been since either of us….GGRRRRAAH!"_

Taking a calming deep breath, Starling gathered the broken remains of her 'mask' and forced them back into place.

"_He's almost five years younger than me, it wouldn't be right. He's better off with someone his age. Besides, he sees me as a big sister, nothing like….that,"_ Starling thought as she felt control returning to her and away from her emotions.

The past thirty minutes had been nothing short of pure, agonizing, torture to Kai.

It was bad enough that he was on one of the few terra's he had little esteem for, and was stuck with Kanin of all people as a guide, but what made it a thousand times worse was Starling.

He had offered to give her a ride to where they were going, and he knew it would be…uncomfortable, but he had no idea that it would be this bad. A part of him was debating on just giving her the armor to use and they continue separately.

But there was this tiny little part of his mind that wouldn't let him voice that thought.

The most 'contact' he had with Starling in the last three years was a handshake, that was it. Now he had her clinging to his back like a Kola cub.

What he hated about the current situation however was that he was enjoying every last second of it.

Her arms were laced around his neck securely, but not tightly. He could still move his head and neck just as easily as he could normally, and thanks to the armor, he didn't feel an ounce of weight from her, only her contact with him.

And that was the problem.

Her legs were wrapped around his waist, with his hands holding onto the underside of her thighs for added support. He tried earlier to let go, but the result was her tightening her grip around his neck, nearly choking him. Due to this hold however, he could feel the firm muscles in her upper legs in his hands. He knew from personal experience just how much power she packed in her legs. Her punch could knock the wind out of you, but her kicks could knock you out cold in one hit.

Oh yes, he knew that very well.

Above this problem however was her head. He couldn't figure out why for the life of him, but she had her head down between his neck and shoulder, using the crook as a pillow of sorts. This caused several issues. First was her hair. It might look spiky and course, but the tresses of her bang felt like the finest silk against his neck. It wasn't uncomfortable at all, the smooth texture made a cold chill run down his spine every time she moved her face. Along with this was the torture of her breathing. At first she had been breathing through her mouth, still trying to catch her breath from running he figured. He swore to build several temples to Ayrgyn once she stopped that and began breathing normally again.

This however presented a new problem. Her light breathing, combined with her continuing 'nuzzling' were continuously tickling his neck. He knew that it wasn't her fault, she had to breathe after all, but this he decided was preferable to how she had been breathing when he first started carrying her.

The final issue however was the one he had completely forgotten, and it was causing him the most grief.

Though the straps running from his shoulders to his hips were surprisingly thick, he had to remove the plate he normally kept on his back to secure the added armor.

This made him acutely aware of Starling pressing into his back.

"_GAAH! I don't know how much more of this I can take! Is she trying to kill me or something?! She's my friend, nothing more! No! Not friend! Family! She's family! She thinks of you as her little brother, or annoying cousin, nothing more, nothing!"_ Though he was successful in regaining complete control, he felt oddly saddened by that thought.

Rushing into the cabin, Piper grabbed Tigger by the arm and yanked her up out of her seat.

"ComeonTiggerwedon'thavemuchtimewehavetohurry!" Piper shouted as she dragged the confused girl (who was still holding a fork in one hand) towards Kai's ship.

When her brain finally rebooted, Tigger dug her heels into the ground and brought Piper to a halt.

"What?! Piper, what are you going on about?" The young blond asked, not very happy about having her lunch interrupted.

"We have to hurry, I have a plan on how to make all the villagers transform, you see they need Lunar rays to transform but only the men have Lunar crystals, but then I remembered that Kai's ship has Lunar crystals all over the hull to help keep it charged while its flying at night, so then I remembered that the polarity of a charging crystal can be reversed and that instead of absorbing Lunar rays we can make them give off Lunar rays which would transform all the villagers into their Werewolf state and give us a chance to fight and actually win against the Deathclaws!" Piper said in one breath before panting to catch her breath again.

Tigger blinked.

Then blinked again.

"Uhh….Piper…are you supposed to be on some medication that you didn't tell us about?" Tigger asked worriedly.

Piper scrowled.

"Tigger, the people of this terra are Werewolves, we've seen that. They transform when their bodies are hit with Lunar rays, most likely from a full moon. The males all have special armbands with Lunar crystals in them, that's what lets them transform. Kai's ship is COVERED in Lunar crystals. If we can reverse the polarity of those crystals, and make them give off Lunar rays instead of absorbing them, we can transform all the villages people into Werewolves simultaneously. That would give us the numbers we need to fight off the Deathclaws!" Piper said (slower than before, but still pretty darn fast).

It took a moment for Tigger to figure out what Piper was trying to say, but when she did, her passive face broke into a smirk.

"They'll never know what hit them!" Tigger said as she twirled her prized wrench from her belt between her fingers.

"Let's do it."

Marina scowled. She was not in a good mood. The men of the village did nothing but tick her off, and the woman were so pathetic it disgusted her.

"If they're too frightened to take their freedom, and control of their lives into their hands, then they don't deserve it," Marina muttered to herself.

Finding a small oasis however perked her mood considerably. Water wasn't exactly rare on terra Gerudo, as they did have was to make it or reach it, but to find a natural body of water was something of a legend. Kai had once told her of a terra that was nothing _but_ water, and at first she thought he was joking, but when the others confirmed it she found herself speechless. Not even the Zora Kingdom was 'completely' water; it just had a lot of water.

Smiling to herself, Marina debated on jumping in or not. She wasn't tired, but she was feeling fairly stressed out, and a cool swim sounded like just the thing to help her relax.

Taking a few steps back, she charged full speed, thinking about how much she was going to enjoy taking this little dip.

Or rather, she _had_ thought it.

Right before she jumped in, she saw something that stopped her dead in her tracks.

A dead bird.

And not just any bird, but a dead buzzard.

Being a desert dweller, she knew full well how resilient the creatures were to dying from anything short of a fireball, and even that was up for debate.

"_What in Din's name could have done this?"_ Stepping towards the dead bird carefully, Marina surveyed the area closely, trying to see if there was anything around that might provide her with a clue.

"_It's quiet…too quiet. I know this terra lacks variety in wildlife, but I remember hearing insects back at the village. There should be even more around water though, not less."_ Frowning, Marina took her gloves from her belt and put them on before kneeling down next to the bird.

"_Strange, no sign of external damage. No holes, no claw marks, no teeth marks, every feather is still perfectly in place."_ Rolling the bird over, she gave it a once over from beak to tail feathers, but that only made things even more confusing.

"_The feathers are healthy, its not molting, and it doesn't look like something exploded inside of it…what would have caused a healthy bird, a buzzard at that to just suddenly drop dead?"_

Removing her gloves, Marina moved closer to the lake to wash off her hands and stopped.

She was able to see her reflection perfectly.

"_That's odd….the water is…shining? Water doesn't shine, not unless it's from one of the Great Fairy Wells."_ Picking up a nearby stick, Marina moved it around in the water a bit, and was surprised to see that the water itself was not 'shining' but that there was a reflective coating of 'something' on top of the water.

Pulling the stick up, she watched as the reddish silvery film ran down the stick back into the water like a thin stream of syrup.

"_What the…it stuck together in one piece?"_ Thinking back, Marina tried to remember if she had seen anything like this before, but she couldn't come up with anything even close.

That was when she became aware of the fact that she was no longer alone. One did not live long as a ruler of thieves and hunter of large prey without developing a sixth sense.

"_Whatever it is, its not moving….but it is watching me…but why?"_ The feeling was making her skin crawl; she was a predator, not prey. But whatever it was that was watcher her, was at least her level, if not greater.

Standing up slowly, bent down and quickly tore off the left leg of her pants and wrapped it around the dead bird. She kept her head down, but was scanning the area around her the entire time. She knew the 'law of the jungle' well, and was not going to die here.

Pulling back on her gloves, Marina carefully picked up the dead buzzard, and stepped away from the oasis facing it. She hated having to be submissive, even if it was only for a few moments, but right now, she knew that to do otherwise would be a mistake. It wasn't just her life on the line now, it was an entire village, and that came before pride.

Watching from a discreet distance, a pair of milky yellow eyes watched the red haired woman back away. Growling, it clinched it teeth in anger. It knew that now was not the time, but soon.

Soon it would be.

End chapter 21

AN: Ok, I know this chapter was a bit short, but I felt that this would be a good place to stop for now. The next scene will be with Kai, Starling and Kanin, and it didn't fit too well here, so it will be the start of the next chapter, and will pretty much be the entire next chapter. I hope my first serious attempt at something romantic' wasn't too bad, I'm still laying out the ground work for the actual relationship, this was more or less the 'spark' that will get things starting beyond what they normally are. But, quite a bit has been revealed in this short chapter, but even more questions are not at hand *I love being evil lol* And I'll go a step further now.

Look out for the next chapter:

'Horrors of the Ancients, Kai's Mission Revealed!'

Soon!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	22. Horrors of the Ancients, Kai’s Mission!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 22: Horrors of the Ancients, Kai's Mission Revealed!

AN: Alright, here it is, the long awaited chapter has arrived. I've been dropping hints along the way, but now that the story has passed the point of no return, its time for a bit of Kai's ugly past to get dragged out into the light kicking and screaming. I'm not going to kid around here, there will be a bit of humor towards the beginning, and there will be a touch of romance too, but when it reaches its peak, it's only to serve as a cushion to help soften the blow. This chapter will have a part to it that some readers might find disturbing. It's not 'M' grade, but it's pretty gruesome. This is something that I've been building up to for a while now, but now its here. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Kai's reason for his dedication to the destruction of the Ancients.

Oh, and don't forget check out Arashi21's profile for his work as well as a few that we are joint writing. Also, apparently I never said this before since I thought it was obvious, but Kai is in fact 'British'. In my world, terra Messa is what's left of the Emerald Isles after the 'Darkest Day' event. So he has a British accent, same as Starling. I joked with Arashi21 about it not long ago and was surprised by this fact, so I figured that it wasn't as obvious as I thought it was.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda or anything related to Fallout 3. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Nintendo and Bethsaida (I think) however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, Kanin, Tsuki, Majah and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

It took nearly two hours for them to reach their destination.

Lunar Canyon

Kai came to a sliding stop, nearly falling off the edge of the cliff when the ground suddenly just came to a end. No warning, no signs, nothing, just empty air.

"Kanin, next time, a warning would be appreciated," Kai hissed. Feeling suddenly cold, it took a moment for him to realize that Starling had hopped off of his back. He didn't know why, but he missed the comforting warmth, at least until he beat down that part of his mind again.

Starling scanned the area with a critical eye, trying to find any obvious signs of recent activity along the cliff facing them.

"Kai, Kanin, do you see anything?"

The two males scanned the area themselves, but like Starling, they couldn't see anything obvious.

All three knew that something had to be up, despite there not being any footprints, claw marks, or other signs of recent activity in the area; they each had a sinking feeling in their stomachs.

"Kanin, is this area usually this quiet?" Kai asked in a hushed tone.

The large beast looked down at Kai and shook its head before looking back to the cliff face.

Pulling out a pair of binoculars the Piper had let her borrow, Starling flipped them to their lowest setting before activating Stork's X-ray function.

"That's strange, I don't see anything, anything at all…not even a bird. This entire area is completely void of life," Starling said mostly to herself but just loud enough that she knew the boys could hear her.

"_Maybe there is something in the book that can help?"_ Kai thought as he pulled out his radio to call Piper for help.

_Static_

"_Huh? That's weird; I know I charged this thing, what on Atmos is going on here?"_ Narrowing his eyes, Kai tried changing the frequency to a higher setting. Tigger had made the device specifically for him so that he could still hear, and be heard from the depths of terra Deep. The place was a dead zone, and radio waves had a difficult time cutting through the terra's blanket of green mist, so for something to be blocking the signal here meant trouble.

"….glory that it once was. That is why I am asking you to continue the fight that your forefathers started so long ago, for the preservation of the pure and blue world."

"Kai, I understand that you have a short attention span, but could you please cut back on the tomfoolery until after the mission?" Starling asked, irritation dripping from her voice.

"Star, it's not me, I was just trying to get in touch with Piper," Kai defended.

Not believing him, Starling took the small radio from his hand and checked it herself.

"Two twelve? Kai, that's a high priority emergency frequency," before Starling could continue however, the voice of what they guessed to be a middle aged man began speaking again.

"Though many years have passed, I, President John Henry Eden ask that you not forget the cause that our great people fought for, the banner that they all served, and the country that they defended," not wanting to listen to any more of the mans patriotic dribble, Kai took back the radio and lowered the volume.

"I told you it wasn't me," Kai said with a snort.

"Kanin, do you know of anyone named John Henry Eden on this terra?" Starling asked the giant, trying to figure out what was going on.

"No, never heard of him, or anyone even close," was the werewolf's half grumbled reply.

Frowning, Starling reached out for Kai's radio.

"May I borrow this? It'll only be for a moment, I promise."

Kai shrugged and handed the device to her and watched as she fiddled around with it. He was a bit of a tinkerer himself, but he couldn't figure out what she was doing.

When the mans voice suddenly stopped, he saw a small smirk spread itself across her lips.

"Bingo, I think we've found just the clue we were looking for," Starling said confidently.

"Uh…Star, what are you talking about?" Kai asked, still not getting what she was thinking.

"This area is a dead zone, no radio signals can get in or out, but we were still able to pick up that one, any idea why?"

Running the information over in his mind, Kai tried to put the pieces together, and was having a rather difficult time doing so.

"If nothing can get in or out, we shouldn't be able to pick anything up at all; I still don't see how this helps any."

Shaking her head, Starling used the toe of her boot to draw a decent sized circle in the ground.

"We are inside the dead zone," Starling said as she pressed her toe into the middle of the circle. "Nothing can get in, or out," she continued by drawing a line from the middle to the edge of the circle, then drawing another line from the outside of the circle to its edge.

"If nothing can get in or out, then how could we pick up that one signal?" Starling asked, hoping that she had dropped enough hints.

"The only way would be…if…it was inside the circle too right?" Kanin asked gruffly.

Nodding her head, Starling continued.

"Correct, wherever that signal is coming from, it has to be within this area, otherwise we wouldn't be able to pick it up."

Kanin crossed his large clawed arms over his torso and leaned against a nearby tree. "It still doesn't tell us where it is though, just that it's around here," he replied, slightly smug over her plan not actually doing all that much.

"Actually…it might, let me have it back for a sec," Kai asked smoothly, his mind instantly going back into 'mission mode'.

Taking the radio, Kai turned the settings back to the way they had been before, and raised the volume just high enough that the mans voice could be heard. He didn't need to be able to understand what he was saying; he just needed to be able to hear him speaking.

"You going to use S&R recon on it?" Star asked with a grin.

Kai's face went blank.

"How did you know that?" He asked, slightly stunned as she pulled the radio out of his grip and adjusted the power setting.

"Kai, I have been a Sky Knight for years, and I was trained for the Special Forces. It wouldn't look too good for my record if I didn't know basic search and rescue protocol," as she spoke, Starling got the power just low enough that the mans voice could barely be heard. Happy that she had it just the way she wanted, Starling took several steps back from the cliff.

Sure enough, the voice disappeared.

"Wherever it's being broadcasted from, it's somewhere in the canyon, or across the other side," Starling said as she moved back towards the two males.

"Anyway to get that thing to tell us exactly where?" Kanin asked, wanting to get this mission over with as quickly as possible.

"Unfortunately no, it can only tell us if we are getting closer or further away from it, not the exact location," Starling replied.

"Did you see anything strange when you came out here last time? Anything that might have been manmade?" Kai asked scratching his chin.

Kanin shook his head. "No, didn't have that much time since a storm was pounding down on me at the time. I ran from one end of the canyon to the other, but I didn't investigate down _in_ the canyon, there was too much water."

Starling frowned at that.

"If you didn't see anything up here….then that means…it…"

"Must be down there," Kia finished Starling's thought with a groan.

"Is there a path or a lift to reach the canyon floor?" Starling asked hopefully.

Kanin chuckled deep from the bottom of his throat at her question.

"No, the only way down is by climbing. This is our proving grounds, where one must descend alone, and retrieve a Lunar crystal before climbing back out, on there own. No _woman_ is allowed either. Looks like you'll just have to _sit_ this one out."

Feeling his lip pulling back into a scowl, Kai calmed himself. He knew that Starling probably hadn't picked up the hidden insult in the message, especially since she was not a native of this terra. The comment had been aimed at Kai, and he was not going to let it go without returning the favor.

"Actually, the laws state that no woman may become a warrior, it doesn't say anywhere that they cant complete the ritual, just that they wont be recognized for not _rolling over_ to the customs," Kai shot back.

Kanin scowled but didn't say anything to push the matter further while Kai kept his face neutral.

"I guess that means we're going down then. Any suggestions?" Starling asked as she peered over the rocky edge apprehensively.

"Yeah, don't fall," Kanin replied as he neared the edge and sank his claws into the ground, and slowly crawled down the rock face, leaving Kai and Starling alone.

"Well, guess there's nothing else we can do huh?" Kai asked before snapping his wrist out and grabbing Starling by the arm.

"What are you doing?"

Pulling her arm free, Starling shot Kai a scathing glare.

"I was about to start climbing down, at least I was before you almost made me fall over the edge by grabbing me like that," Starling retorted.

"You're joking right?" Kai asked seriously (though inside it was more along the lines of hopefully pleading).

"No I was not. Kai, you're not seriously thinking about leaving me up here are you? You know I don't give a…"

"I know you don't care about their customs Star, I just don't want you…to fall," Kai said bluntly, not knowing how else to put it.

Rolling her eyes, Starling pulled on her thick riding gloves and said everything she needed to with one 'look'. Basically reminding him of who he was talking to in the first place.

"Fine, just…let me go first alright?" Seeing the questioning look in her eyes, he continued. "If you go first and I fall, then I'm probably going to take you with me on the way down, but if I go first…" he let the rest of the unwelcome sentence hang. It wasn't something he wished to dwell on, but if there was anything he could do to lower the chances of her getting hurt, he'd do it.

"Very well, you may go first, just try not to get distracted, I wouldn't want to step on your hand or something and us both fall," Starling replied exasperatedly.

Nodding, Kai followed Kanin's example, and sunk his gauntlets claws into the ground, and started his way down.

The trio continued to descend for a good ten minutes. Kanin had a head start, so he was a bit further down than Kai and Starling. Though he wasn't feeling tired or weak per say, Kai was growing weary of the climb. Since Starling was only a few feet above him, she was continuously showering him dirt and small bits of rock every time she moved a hand or a foot. This was annoying, but he didn't say anything about it. If he did, she would tell him to move to one side, or she would move to one side, and if she fell afterwards, he wouldn't have a prayer of catching her in time.

Starling herself was starting to get a bit tired. Unlike Kanin and Kai, she was a normal human, and had only normal human grade strength. More than once since this decent had started she had thought about stopping, or trying to find another way down, but those would only be a waste of time, and would serve to prove Kanin right. Her desire to prove herself however was not quite enough to stop the slow burning sensation creeping up through her arms and legs. She knew that her muscles were starting to reach their limit.

"_Maybe when we reach the bottom I get another lift?"_ Shaking her head to clear the though, Starling felt her grip slip.

"Oh bugger, Kai!" Was all that she managed to say before losing her grip.

Looking up, only took half a heartbeat for him to figure out what was happening.

His worst fear.

Flexing his shoulders and hands, Kai waited until he saw her grip break, and her start to fall.

Thrusting out with one arm, he caught her by the waste and pulled her as close as he could, adrenalin making his heartbeat pound in his ears.

"Before you even think it, no, I'm not letting you drop, now get back on that wall!" Kai ordered, feeling the strain from her added wait starting to loosen his own grip.

Biting her lip, Starling hissed in pain. "Kai, I think I slit my palm," she replied shakily.

"_Just bloody great…man, if this doesn't kill me, she will, I know it."_

Still holding her by the waste, Kai tried to maneuver her between himself and the wall of earth and rock. He needed both arms to keep them up, and this was the only thing he could think of. One hand was just about buried into the rocky wall, so he let gravity pull him down and against her like a wedge to keep them both from falling. It wouldn't last for long, but it bought them some time.

"Star, I need for you, to listen very, very, closely to me, alright?" Kai's voice strained only slightly, but he didn't allow an ounce of fear to seep out. His face was being pushed into the rock, forcing him to breathe in dirt with each passing breath.

Starling, still frozen in a half shocked state was only able to nod her head in response. There were too close to each other for him to see the movement, but he had felt it on his shoulder.

"Ok, I need for you to hold on to me as tightly as you can, hold onto me like your life depends on it ok?" Kai made sure to phrase it as 'like your life' and not 'because your life' since he didn't want to add any more stress to the situation than it already had.

Straining from their combined weight, Kai groaned. "Please, sometime soon Star."

Without replying to a word he said, he felt her arms snake around his neck and legs wrap around his waste, each like a pair of vices.

For one fleeting moment, Kai wondered why the Ayrgyn in the back of his mind was keeping so quiet at a moment like this.

"_Well, here it goes. Express lift to Oblivion, bottom floor,"_ Kai thought with a gulp as he released his hold on the wall, and let them both fall.

This was a last ditch no other option left plan, he knew it, but that was the sort of thing he was used to, and since it had never failed him before…

Thrusting out his hands and legs into an X, Kai tried to slow their fall as much as possible. Never in his life had he been so glad to have been wearing armor before, and he doubted he ever would again.

Hearing a loud screeching noise from above, Kanin looked up in time to see Kai coming at him like missile, sparks flying out from his gloves and boots.

Snorting, he swung to his left by releasing his right arm for a moment and allowed the teen to speed by him towards the bottom.

"_Showoff,"_ he thought before grinning. Sinking his foot claws into the rock as best he could, Kanin hefted himself up and started running _up_ towards the top of the canyon, before twisting around and reversing his direction.

"_No way am I going to let that whelp make me look bad!"_ Kanin's grin spread as he ran on all fours_ down _the wall of rock.

Kai and Starling fell for over a full minute before the inevitable occurred.

_SLAM_

"Ooowwwww," Kai groaned, suppressing his cry of pain as several weak coughs.

Forcing his eyes open, he could see what looked like waves moving through the air along with several various colored spots and other random shapes moving around.

"_This…has happened before…and I don't think it was a good thing that time either,"_ was the only thing he could think as he tried to pull himself together. It took a few seconds for his brain to start functioning again, but when it did, he became aware of the large purple shape taking up a large portion of his vision.

_Groan_

"Kai….are…you ok?"

Starling's voice was hushed, but at the same time he could tell that she was very close by. A moment later the purple blob moved away from him a bit and allowed his eyes the chance to focus.

"St…ar? Could…you….get…..off….please?" he managed to say between coughs.

Instead of getting off, she leaned closer to his face, close enough that he could have sworn that he saw his reflection in her eyes. When he felt one of her hand reach up to his face, he felt the familiar unwelcome burning sensation of embarrassment burning across his cheeks.

Thankfully, she didn't seem to be focusing on his face, just his eyes at the moment.

"Kai, your left eye is dilated, there's a good chance that you've sustained a concussion, you need to stay awake, if you fall asleep…"

"There's a…good chance that I…won't wake up, yeah, I know…Star. Not like this is the…first time it's happened," the teen said between dry coughs. _"I thought this felt familiar, well, lets have it, the scolding and the speeches,"_ Kai thought wistfully.

To his surprise, she didn't scold him; she didn't say anything at all actually. Her face just shifted from being focused and a bit concerned to one of half hidden pain and disappointment.

"Um….Star….could you get off…please?" Kai asked turning his head to look the other way. It only took a moment, but he felt the slight pressure of her bodyweight remove itself from him, and caught sight of her outstretched hand. Without a second though, he accepted the help in getting up off his back.

"Hold still for a moment, I need to check something."

Taking a deep breath, he waited as she stepped behind him, he knew what was to come, he had gone to see Rondana for concussions before after all.

Nimble fingers quickly worked their way across the back of his head, pushing and prodding, not gently but at the same time not too hard. When he didn't grunt or hiss in pain, he felt Starling run her gloved hands over his head from front to back, then side to side.

"No blood, so at least we don't have to worry about that. I guess that hard head of yours is good for something after all."

Biting his tongue, Kai stopped his joke before it could leave his mind. He knew that it wouldn't be appreciated at a time like this.

"Do you feel any sharp pain, like anything's sprained or broken?" She asked, still in her 'mission mode' voice.

Clinching his fists, Kai rotated his arms slowly, flexed his shoulders, rotated his neck and lifted his legs one at a time as slowly as he could.

"No, just…a dull ach, like having a headache in my whole body," he replied with a light chuckle.

"That's what happens when you fall flat on your backside like that, what else did you expect to happen whelp?" Kanin shouted as he landed beside the two with a much lighter 'thud' than Kai had.

"We need to keep moving, and Star, don't worry about me. Like you said, as long as I stay awake I'll be fine….now if the ground will just stop tilting like that, I can start moving," Kai said as he started moving forward, wobbly and a bit shakily.

Kanin snickered at the boy actions, and though she couldn't make out what he was saying, Starling swore that she heard something along the lines of 'so this is what he acts like drunk' roll across his canine lips.

With a groan, Starling quickly caught up to Kai and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Hold on, we need to…oh….Kai…please don't tell me that you…." The sound of a gloved hand slapping its owner's forehead could be heard echoing throughout the canyon.

There, before them, were the busted remains of Kai's radio, in the middle of a crater that looked suspiciously like a human's outline.

"Not….my…fault Star….how was I supposed…to know?" Kai asked hazily.

"It matters not, we have no need of the thing now," Kanin said pointing at the ground around them.

Sure enough, all around where they had been standing were foot prints.

"So that's why I'm not dead huh?" Kai said with a small smirk. The ground was covered in what had to be at least several inches of mud, thick, deep, almost swampy mud. That of course made him realize something else.

"Aw man, that means…my back is…" shuddering, Kai's senses were slowly returning to him, including his ability to feel things other than pain. At the moment, all he could feel was cold wet mud sliding down his neck into his uniforms top.

"Oh grow up, come on, we need to find where these things are coming from," Starling chided as she started following the tracks.

Kanin shook his head before following her, not wanting to waste time at the moment arguing, especially not when he was sure that there would be a battle soon at hand.

Pulling his thoughts together, Kai leaned with one hand against the wall and slowly started following the other two.

Had it been for any other reason, she probably would have been enjoying herself. Though Starling was focusing on following the footprints, she was still able to see the Lunar crystals that lined the canyon wall out of the corners of her sight, she was even able to see what looked like drawings carved into the rock with claws. Some looked fresh while others were almost faded with age. Lunar canyon was indeed a remarkable place, but at the moment, her thoughts were less than positive.

"_He shrugs off a concussion as if it were a stumped toe? Kai, what have you been doing to yourself since you left?"_

Starlings face went from a scowl to a frown.

"_I thought that he would find a place with others after I sent him off, I had hoped that he would find a place to fit in, but instead…why did you do it Kai? Why didn't you just move on with your life?"_

Clinching her fists, she took deep breaths as she continued following the tracks almost like she was on auto pilot.

"_He doesn't have to continue doing these missions for Ayrgyn, but he does. Why? I know he has a kind heart, but he's not exactly the hero type that just does things for the good of mankind. He's either trying to find something, or he's trying to do something. Kai is a methodical person, he never does anything for no reason. The question is, what? What is he searching for? Or what is he trying to achieve? I saw his swag room back at terra Deep, he could buy a decent chunk of a terra if he wanted to, or a fleet of skimmers. So it must be something that you can't buy. If it's not something that can be bought, then that cuts out quite a few of the possibilities. Could it be something of the Ancients? That would explain why he is constantly dungeon diving, and why he doesn't want anyone to know what he's up too, but it wouldn't explain all the work he's put into establishing a network for himself throughout Cyclonia and Free Atmos."_

Twisting her neck to try and pop the crick she had been feeling since they 'landed' Starling eyed Kai for a moment, and tried to figure out just when your young friend changed, and why.

"_Kai, you're a puzzle of a person if I even met one. I just hope that whatever it is you've put your life on hold for is worth it."_

The trio stopped when they came to a dead end. The tracks seemed to continue _through_ the wall of rock, which could mean only one thing.

"Great, a secret entrance. Any ideas?" Kai grumbled as he leaned against the cold rock and closed his eyes. It wasn't that he was tired; he just wanted the ground to keep still for a little while.

"We open it moron," Kanin shot back before slamming his fists into the wall as heard as he could.

The result was the sound of rock cracking, along with a snarl of annoyance.

"Oh yeah, like that would work," Kai muttered under his breath.

Looking over his shoulder, Kanin snorted. "Let's see you do any better whelp."

Not one to let a challenge go unanswered, Kai smashed his gauntlets together before slamming them into the wall of rock as hard as he could.

To his credit, a visible crack did spread out from the point of impact and spider web out for about a foot.

"Hn, just what I though," Kanin snorted.

Narrowing his eyes at the werewolf, Kai reared back his fist, and struck again, then again, and again.

Kanin, not wanting to be outdone copied the younger male's example and started pounding as hard as he could against the wall.

Kai's fist would strike, and then as soon as his hand pulled back Kanin's would strike the same spot. This process continued for several seconds while Starling watching from a few feet away and sighed.

"_Males, they're all a bunch of cavemen, what's next, them howling at the moon and beating their chests to a drum beat?"_ she thought as she rolled her eyes.

Reaching into her ponytail, Starling extracted a single lock pick (one of seven that she carried, three of which were hidden in her hair) and fit it into a small space between two rocks on the wall. Ignoring the males as they descended further and further down the evolutionary ladder, she focused on the clicks of the lock.

_Click_

"That's the best you've got? I've been slapped harder by girls!" Kai shouted.

_Click_ Starling ignored them, but filed that comment away for future explanation.

"Ha! I've had fish bite harder than that, you're not even a whelp, you're a pup!" Kanin shouted as his fist connected with the rock wall.

The two pulled their fists back at the same time, and threw them towards the wall of rock, sending every last ounce of strength they had into the blow.

_Pop_

And connected with nothing but air as the two were carried by their own momentum several feet into a dimly lit cave, and landed face first with a thud.

"_Savages"_ Starling though as she stepped into the cave and surveyed her new surroundings.

The walls were obviously metal, but unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was flat paneling, like the inside of a carrier, but it seemed to go on for miles and miles.

"_Where would anyone get this much metal from? You could build an entire city with this!"_ Starling realized as she looked up and saw that the metal walls ran clear up the length of the canyon.

"There's more metal here….than in all of Free Atmos," Kai said with a pensive face.

"You've seen this before?" Starling asked as her gaze continued to travel across the giant construct.

The only way to describe it was that they were inside of a manmade mountain. The walls rose up for well over several hundred feet, and continued out further than they could see.

"One could live their entire life in this place, and never see it all," Kanin said dumbly as his eyes tried to take in everything at once.

Just when they were starting to come back to their senses, the three found themselves blinded as white lights suddenly flickered to life above them and to their sides.

_Snap pop_

"Oh," Kai started.

_Snap pop_. With widened eyes, Kanin continued. "My."

_Snap pop_. "God," Starling finished.

_Snap pop, snap pop, snap pop, snap pop_.

Row after row of lights came to life, no longer were they inside of a dimly let cavern. As the lights continued to cut on, they were bathed in light as they would had they been on the surface.

"What is this place?" Kanin asked as the three looked on, feeling smaller and smaller by the second.

Scanning the walls for something, anything, Kai overlooked the various pieces of machinery that cluttered the area.

"_No…it can't be…."_ Kai felt his heart stop and his stomach drop into his feet.

"No…no…nononononono, this is bad, very, very bad. We need to get out of here, now!" Kai ordered.

Starling and Kanin both spun on their heels to face their team's third member.

At first they were confused, but now they were both worried.

Following Kai's gaze, they saw an unfamiliar symbol etched onto the wall above the entrance.

Kanin stared at the emblem with little more than confusion, but Starling was now focused completely on Kai.

"What is it? You've seen this mark before?"

Kai nodded, feeling the blood drain from his face.

"_No, how many more of these things are there!?"_

"I don't see the problem with it, it's just a poorly done cave scratching. I've seen pups do better with sticks and mud."

Kai shuddered as images from not too long ago fluttered across his vision, images that had left him waking with nightmares for weeks and unable to eat meat or go near Rondana for even longer.

"You don't get it, that's….that's an insignia…for one of the Ancients…one of the worst ones that ever existed," shuddering, Kai felt the bile in his stomach starting to quiver.

"_Keep it together, just breathe in and breath out, you have to get them out of here, if they see anything like…that…"_ Kai was unable to prevent his shoulders from trembling. He had seen many things in his life, but there were only a few he wished he hadn't.

"Do…do you remember….what Piper said this place was?" Kai asked as he pushed the memories back as deep as he could.

"She said that it was a testing facility of some kind…something about failed experiments if I'm not mistaken," Starling replied, now genuinely worried about her friend.

"So what? They send a bunch of junk contraptions here and smash them; I still don't see the problem.

As soon as the word 'smash' left Kanin's mouth, Kai's eyes widened and he fell onto his knees. His fast breathing now becoming raspy, he felt his entire body began to convulse and shudder.

"Kanin, don't say anything even close to that word again, please, I can't take much more," Kai begged.

Lowering herself onto her knees, Starling grabbed Kai by the shoulders and pushed him back slightly so she could see his face.

"_My Lord, he's crying? What on Atmos could he have seen that has him shaken this badly?"_

Looking her dead in the eye, Kai could almost hear her thoughts; it didn't take much given what was happening.

"I…I….cant….tell you….Star….I cant….."

"Kai….you need to pull yourself together. We have a mission to complete. I'm right here with you ok? I'm going to help you get through this, just take deep breaths, and try to calm down.

If anything that made his eyes shift from fear to terror.

"No, you can't, Star, you have to get out of here, you can't see it."

Slight fear became deep concern. Never in all the years had she known him had she ever seen Kai this bad.

"_If it got to him like this, then it must have been something terrible….what could people do that is so horrible that someone like Kai would be driven like this?"_

"I don't care. The team comes first, and the mission must be completed. Kai, what would happen if Lark were to find this place?"

She wasn't sure what exactly was here to begin with, but she knew that Kai did, and she hoped that it would 'kick him into gear' so to speak.

"Or….the Council….dear…." shutting his eyes tightly, Kai slumped forward into Starling.

"Please Star…please leave," his muffled voice pleaded.

A part of her was offended that he apparently had such little faith in her, but something else was at hand here. His tone, his voice, the way he was almost pleading with her, it didn't seem to fit.

"_It…doesn't seem like…he thinks I can't….its almost as though he doesn't want me to…"_

Taking a deep breath, Starling pushed herself up, and held out her hand. She wished that she didn't have to play this card, it was dirty, underhanded, and went against everything she tried to uphold, but right now, she knew it was he only option.

"I'm going, if you can't, then stay here, but I'm going," as she spoke, Starling began moving towards the gigantic bases interior.

_Pat_

_Pat_

_Pat_

Closing her eyes, Starling forced back the hurt she felt within. She had just used her closest friend's deepest fear against him, like a weapon, the way an enemy would.

And it worked.

Stopping for a moment, she watched as he walked past her with a dead, almost haunting look in his eyes.

"_I promise Kai, I promise, that no matter what, I will make this up to you,"_ she swore to herself as she watched her broken friend move towards the bases interior.

After nearly two hours of walking, the group stopped. Starling and Kanin had been taking in everything they saw with a mixture of amazement and dread. Never had they seen such fantastic mechanical devices, even if they didn't have a clue as to what they were the sheer scale of what they had seen was enough to impress them. But at the same time, they both knew that there was something…dark about this place. Some of the devices they saw, despite not recognizing what they were or what they did, were obviously weapons of some type. The overwhelming number of these things gave the two a chilled feeling running down their spines. Added to that, they knew that there was something else here, something that Kai had run across before.

As they moved deeper and deeper into the base, they had come across several large hanger doors, each with various markings emblazoned across them. Kai had pointed them out and mumbled what a few of the marking meant, but for the most part had been silent, the only sounds aside from his breathing being his foot steps across the metal floor.

"How do you know where you're going?" Kanin asked after they turned down what looked like the twentieth identical hallway.

"Because….they're all the same…they made em that way of purpose," Kai mumbled.

Reaching the end of the hallway, they came to a stop in front of a pair of hanger doors. Like the ones before it, it too had a large emblem in its center.

"….you….should cover your eyes….when…I open…it. It's a straight shot through here, just….don't....just keep walking straight forward."

"Is it some kink of light based security system?" Starling asked, confused by his request.

Kai only shook his head as he reached up and traced the symbol on the door with his gloved had.

Unlike the others which looked like giant symbols, this one looked more like what one would expect to see as a squadron insignia. A large golden pole ran down the middle of the design, and wrapped around it were two snakes, coiled from the base of to the top staring at each other. Behind them was a pair of what looked like golden wings, like those of a large eagle.

"Kai, what is behind this door? Is it something dangerous? Is it a threat of any kind?" Starling asked with narrowed eyes.

When he turned to look at her, the pained expression on his face was almost more than she could bear.

"Remember…how you and the others…asked about the Virage? Where they came from….how they….were made?"

Starling nodded her head, remembering how evasive he had become whenever the topic was brought up.

"These….Deathclaws….they're just….like them….they….are…the same…I think."

Glancing from the door, back to Kai, Starling could feel the pain, the fear, and the dread that was pouring out from her former ward.

She would later be amazed at how simple her choice had seemed at that moment, amazed at just how much it would later change things, but never once would she regret it, no matter how many sleepless nights it brought to her.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Starling reached out and placed her hand on top of his, entwining her fingers with his on the cold metal door. She could feel his shaking hand still beneath hers, giving her the final push she needed.

"Kai…whatever is on the other side of this door…I want to see it."

She watched as his face slowly turned towards hers stared deep into her eyes.

Regret, fear and dread were all there in equal parts, but she could make out just a tiny flicker of something else.

Relief

"Are…you sure?" He asked breaking eye contact and looking back at the door as though it were the gates to the underworld.

Without hesitation, she answered.

"Yes"

Kanin watched the exchange between the two. He was getting a bit tired of the way Kai was acting, but his nose was telling him that on the other side of that door, death would be all that they found.

With one shaky hand, Kai reached up to a strange looking pad covered with buttons that sat on the adjacent wall, and smashed it. Pulling his other hand free from Starling's he reached inside and pulled several wires out. It became painfully obvious to Starling and Kanin that this was something he had done more than once, or even a few times.

Holding up two wire ends, one in each hand, Kai looked over his shoulder at the other two.

"I'm sorry," was all that he said as he connected the two wires.

With a _woosh_ the door split open, each half retracting into the wall on each side.

Seeing Kai's pained face, Starling reached out and grabbed his hand with hers again. She knew that he needed help getting through whatever this was.

She only hoped that she was strong enough.

Preparing for the worst that she could imagine, Starling found herself no where near properly prepared as she stepped into the room hand in hand with Kai.

It looked like a plain enough room at first, just like the one's they had seen throughout the base. But unlike the empty rooms, or the rooms full of various mechanical and electrical equipment, this one was not 'empty'.

Lining the walls on all sides where what could only be described as large clear tanks. Each stood at about seven feet in height and was close to four feet across, and each was made of some sort of glass.

Seeing their contents however, Starling felt bile rising into the back of her throat.

Not one of the tanks was empty, not one of them.

Inside some of the tanks were half rotted and decomposed creatures that looked like they had once been Deathclaws, or something similar. Others held creatures far more monstrous than she could have ever imagined. Large sections of flesh was missing, chunks of muscle were exposed, in some cases she could even see bone.

It was far worst than any horror movie she had seen.

This was real.

Kanin felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he looked around the room. More than one of the dead creatures had what was obviously fur.

Starling felt Kai's hand begin to shake in her own, looking over at him, she saw a vacant look in his eyes, one that she knew meant he was reliving or reseeding something terrible.

"They…._grew_ weapons?" Kanin snarled, unconsciously forcing his claws out from his finger tips.

"They….did….a lot worst Kanin….a lot worst," Kai replied with a distant voice.

"What could be worst than taking some poor animal and…and….doing THIS to it?!" Kanin roared in anger. It was taking everything he had not to smash open the tanks and destroy the remains of the long dead creatures inside.

Kai looked over at Starling, and without saying a word, told her everything.

Looking into his eyes, Starling saw pain far worst then she could have imagined, pain that radiated from him and almost choked her.

"_What could be worst then experimenting on animals?...Oh dear…."_ Starling felt her stomach clinch so tight that it hurt.

"_They….didn't…"_

Seeing black leak into the corner of her sight, Starling fought to keep herself conscious.

"_They…couldn't have….no human would do something like that….would they?"_

Feeling his hand tighten in hers, Starling saw Kai mouth two words, just two tiny words.

'They did'

Feeling her strength quickly fading, Starling was thankful when Kai started moving. Kanin kept perfect pace with them, fuming more and more with every step they took.

"Seven months ago…I found the first one…." Kai began as Starling forced herself to see everything in the room. She knew that Kai had done so at least once, and that this must have been the answer to her question, the very thing she had been seeking since this mission began.

"It…I didn't know what it was….but when I found the second one…I found out."

As they continued to move through the room at a brisk pace, Starling shivered when she spied several surgical tables coming into view.

"The third one though….that was when I found out about….the Virage…."

Not wanting, but needing to know the answer, Starling asked the question, dreading its answer.

"When….when did they start?"

Feeling the fear in his clinched hand replaced by a sudden flood of anger, Starling knew what he was going to say before he did, but that didn't lessen the blow in the least.

"They started from the beginning Star, they started…from zero," was Kai's frosty response.

Starling pulled her free hand up and wrapped it around her stomach tightly as the painful truth settled into the pit of her stomach.

"_How….could anyone….even think…"_

"Star….I…wish you didn't….know…"

Fighting back the tears as best she could, Starling shook her head. "No one, no human should have to carry that burden by themselves."

Kai snorted.

"No one should have to carry it at all…..that's why I do this Star….to keep anyone from finding out….or the Oracle stone forbid, try to use it."

Kanin might not have quite understood everything that Kai was saying to Starling, but his nose didn't lie. This place had been empty for a long time, but it took more than time to wash away the stench of blood.

The blood of humans.

The blood of his people.

The blood of those that never had a chance.

Kanin was seeing red, and he needed to vent. This was no longer about the safety of his village; this was something far more important now.

He didn't know why, but Kai felt like a great weight had been eased from his shoulders. It was still there, but it wasn't as heavy. Another part of his mind though was screaming bloody murder at him for not forcing Starling to leave, for dragging her into this mess.

Looking over to her face, Kai felt a tiny spark of comfort when he saw that she was not looking away, that she had not chosen to ignore what was around them. To see her studying, inspecting, and committing to memory every scrap of detail made him feel oddly reassured, comforted even.

Reaching the end of the horrid room, they were surprised when the door opened for them automatically.

"This can't be good," Kanin said before shifting back into his 'human' form.

Kai and Starling nodded silently in agreement.

"Ah, there you are. I was beginning to wonder if you needed help finding me."

Kai, Starling and Kanin's faces flew up as a large translucent human head appeared in the middle of the room before them.

"Please, please, do come in. I have been expecting you for quite some time now."

"_That voice….it's…"_

"Allow me to introduce myself; I am President John Henry Eden, nice to make your acquaintance," the man spoke with a warm, almost calculated tone.

As he spoke, the doors closed behind them.

Kanin and Kai both took a quick whiff of the air, something wasn't right, but they couldn't tell exactly what.

"You have been expecting us?" Starling asked, raising her eyebrow at the large floating head.

"Why of course….well, I have been waiting for _you_ not for _those_," he replied nodding at both Kai and Kanin.

"How do you know who I am? And for that matter, who are you?"

The man smiled. Though it might have seemed innocent, it made Starling's skin crawl. The mans smile was almost identical to the one worn by the members of the Sky Council.

"_Best be careful with this one, he's up to something."_

A green light flashed, going across Starling, then Kai, and finally Kanin. It was so fast that they barely even saw it, and by the time they reacted, it was gone.

"What did you just do?" Kai asked warningly. He had never seen anything like this before, but he could already tell that he didn't like it.

"Scanning, I wanted to see if my assumptions were correct, and of course as always, they were. One level fifteen metahuman, most likely a descendent, one modhuman most likely a surviving test subject, and one near pure blood human. Not a mutation or a modification, but a hybrid.

None of them liked that comment one bit.

"Tell me…Starling, who are you?"

"_What? He knows my name, but not who I am? What is this about?"_

"You ware the uniform of a soldier, and from what I can tell based on how you carry yourself, you have the training of one as well. I'm wagering that our allies have finally finished a viable test subject if you are here. Too bad it was a waste in the end," the 'head' said disdainfully.

"My name is Starling, Starling Nitens, and yes, I am a Captain in for the A.S.F. but why does this interest you?"

The man's eyes widened.

"A.S.F? Not possible, I did not authorize any such promotion."

"What the heck are you talking about? You have no say in what the old gasbags in the Council do. Why don't you come out here and try talking to us face to face!" Kai demanded.

The man snorted.

"I am speaking to you face to face; _subhuman_ were you not taught proper protocol when they put you into service?"

Somewhere, deep, deep in the back of Kai's being, he felt a dagger plunge and twist in his back.

"_Sub….human…"_

"Look, I think you have me confused with someone else…but what did you mean by 'you are' speaking to us face to face. This is…an illusion of sorts correct?"

The man face shook and he sighed. "I am speaking to you face to face, I do not have a physical body, I am what you see before you. Long ago I was created to protect this great country, but then something…happened. I have been unable to reach any of our allies for quite some time. I was only recently able to send out scouts from this instillation. Tell me, how did you manage to convince one of the ferals to help you? I did not think they could be reasoned with, unless this one is an outcast of some sort.

Despite not looking at or indicating who he was speaking about, Kanin knew that the man was referring to him, but chose to keep his mouth shut. He would have 'his turn' soon enough.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Starling took a deep breath. "Kanin chose to lead us here of his own will, I did not have to 'convince' him of anything."

Adopting a thinking expression, the large head looked down and focused on Starling. Do you travel with….these…._creatures_ willingly?"

Not liking the way this line of questioning was going, Starling gritted her teeth.

"Yes, I willingly travel with them, Kanin is native to this terra, but Kai is my friend and my apprentice, why does it mater?"

"APPRENTICE!? Why waste your time training something that isn't even human? They do not require any more training than one would a dog. With the numbers of them we can produce there is no need to waste precious time and effort on something so easily replaced."

Again, Kai felt that dagger push even deeper.

"I beg your pardon, but Kai is not some common….animal that one treats like a pet. You have no right to address him as such. He is a human being, just as much as I am."

_Snort_

"My dear, I can understand if you have grown…attached to it, but I can assure you, there is _nothing_ special of unique about it. I suggest you seek counseling if you truly do feel for it in that manner."

_Shatter_

Something, though he wasn't sure what, broke. At first nothing happened, but then Kai began to feel very, very cold, colder than he had in a long time.

Before anyone could speak, the large floating head continued.

"Enough of this, we have important matters to attend to. This outpost has become overrun with ferals, and I require your assistance in removing them.

Kanin's claws grew slightly.

"I'm afraid that I don't follow," Starling replied coldly.

"Ah, yes, I was afraid that my transmitting was being intercepted. Very well, I shall explain it to you in full."

A small hole opened up in the floor behind the head, producing a reflective metal cylinder, roughly the size of a large thermos.

"This is an enhanced version of the F.E.V. or Forced, Mutation, Virus. I managed to take a sample from one of the ferals and use it to produce this batch. It should eradicate them from the face of the planet, along with any other genetic mutations. The two that came with you will unfortunately be affected by it as well, but as I said before, they are expendable."

Through the corners of his eyes, Kai saw red. This man had mocked him, stripped him of the one thing he had left of any value, and then dared to say that he was expendable at the drop of a hat?

"_Is…that….is that all I really am?"_ A dark voice whispered in the back of his mind, one that he had been hearing a lot out of frequently.

Kanin was using every last ounce of self control he had left. Nothing would have pleased him more than to shred this guy limb from limb, but his gut instinct was holding him back.

"WHAT!?"

Starling, despite not knowing completely what was going on, or what this man was up to, knew exactly what he had just suggested.

"_He speaks of genocide as though it were the weather? What kind of people follow such a leader!?"_

"I'm not here to help you; I came to help Kai destroy this instillation. I don't know what kind of sick and twisted creature you are, but I have no intentions of helping you, not with something like that." Each word she spoke was laced with venom, more than Kai had ever heard her use before in all the years they had known each other.

Seeing her narrowed eyes, Kai couldn't help but compare her to a very angry pit viper.

Sighing, the man shook his head.

"I was afraid of that. I knew your intent all along; this entire base is outfitted with microphones. I heard every word that you spoke since setting foot in here. I had hoped however that your training and your loyalty would bring you back to your senses, but it seems that your judgment has become tainted beyond recovery. Very well, you leave me with no choice."

Every wall panel in the room opened as he spoke, each revealing a door behind it.

A door that housed a Deathclaw.

"Try to keep their remains in as close to one piece as you can, I would like to study them after they have been dealt with, particularly the female if at all possible."

The scant few threads that had been keeping Kai together, snapped.

Kanin let lose a feral roar as his body transformed into its full werewolf form. Muscle tore and healed to the point that he only felt the pain form it, not the effects.

Starling was shocked at the transformation. The other times it had seemed so natural, but this was forced, and full of seething rage. Never before had she seen any of the others eyes turn solid white.

"_This is bad, it's like he's gone feral, Kai, I need Kai's help if we're going to get out of this mess!"_

Turning to her friend for instructions or help of any sort, Starling was shocked to see her friend become encased in black energy. Looking down at her shirt, she could see the tendrils of power shooting from the Shadow crystal she now kept to him like angry serpents.

As she watched, she could see the familiar energy field surrounding him, the 'Shadows Embrace' but something was off this time, it felt….hot. The few other times she had felt his energy up this close it had always been cold, but she could feel heat radiating from him now, scorching heat.

His mind blank, Kai felt his mouth twist into a sneering scowl as he pulled free his staff and brought it around into an offensive stance.

Starling felt a well of dread bubble up from inside her as she saw the Deathclaws charge, and Kai and Kanin lunge towards them.

This was not going to end well, and she knew it.

End Chapter 22

AN: Oh yeah, aint I a stinker? I'll tell you right now that the next chapter picks up with Marina and the others, so your going to have to wait a while to find out what happens with the trio here lol. I was trying to incorporate a bit of everything into this chapter, but not make it over the top. It should be pretty obvious just which group of 'Ancients' are responsible for this. As for what the 'big bad thing' that Starling realized and that Kanin smelled was, I'm not going to outright say it, your free to guess, and I'll tell you if you get it right, but I'm not going to give any hints. It's not a pleasant thing to dwell on, that much I can tell you. I did leave several clues throughout book II, so yeah, that's the only hint you're getting out of me. Starling's last name is not random, I actually worked to come up with it. A prize to whoever can figure out what it is or where it came from.

That's all for now, till next time, Ja Ne!


	23. Death and Rebirth!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 23: Death and Rebirth!

AN: Ok, I'm back! This chapter, like a few of my others will be a bit of a rollercoaster, but, it will be different regarding the 'temperament'. This is my first serous attempt at writing something…romantic esq. I've been practicing with my Digimon fics, but this is my first 'dive' into the strange, confusing, and all around annoying world of romantic writing, so I ask that you bare with me as I try too feel my way around in the dark here. I only have the most basic of understanding in writing this, and that comes from reading other peoples work.

Oh, and don't forget check out Arashi21's profile for his work as well as a few that we are joint writing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda or the 'Deathclaws'. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Nintendo and Bethsaida (I think) however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, Kanin, Tsuki, Majah and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25  
Tigger belongs to Misery J Voldemort  
Marina is nuts for Star Wars  
Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes  
Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

* * *

Starling could do nothing but watch in mute horror as everything around her was plunged into the depths of chaos.

At first, Kai's energy field had taken on its normal form, that of a black cloud clinging to his body and surging with every movement, but then…it changed.

For a brief moment, she could see him shuddering, as if he had become suddenly cold, then it looked like the energy field was dissipating, like it was going to fall apart.

"**NO! DON'T YOU DARE FAIL ME NOW! I ORDER YOU TO WORK YOU BLASTED ANCIENT PIECE OF REFUSE!"** Kai's thunderous voice bellowed throughout the enormous room.

It was no secret; they all knew that he was at his limit, and that to use the powers any more would risk their going critical. That was the reason she now wore not only the anchor crystal that connected him to herself, but why she was wearing the Shadow crystal as well.

Feeling the pain, the anger, the unfathomable fear the was coursing through Kai, Starling found herself wishing for the first time since this mission had begun that the link Ayrgyn had forged between them would just shut off.

"_Why is he so angry? It doesn't even make sense, Kai knows better than to let his emotions, especially his anger get the better of him. But then….why is he so afraid? Fear and anger of this magnitude, how can it be possible for anyone to experience both extremes at the same time?"_

Just as she had feared would happen, Kai's energy field collapsed, shattering into the wind like a crystal dust.

"KAI! LOOK OUT!" Charging through the carnage, leaping over Deathclaws, and parts of Deathclaws that Kanin had rind, she tackled him to the ground just as a Deathclaw took a cheap shot and almost cleaved him in two.

"WHAT THE DEVIL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Starling shrieked as she rolled over onto her back and pulled Kai out of the way of a second attack by yet another Deathclaw.

"No…NO!"

Starling's eyes widened in fear as Kai's fist flew towards her face like a rocket.

"_What is he...has he completely lost his mind?"_

Just as it was about to connect, she saw that its trajectory was not her face, but just slightly to her right.

His fist sailed by her face, grazing her cheek and ear before filling the air with the sound of bone crunching.

Spinning around, she was surprised to see that another Deathclaw had snuck up on her and was about to attack, but her would be slayer was now flat on his back with a broken nose, and more than likely a fractured skull if nothing else.

"Star. Get. **OUT. OF. HERE. NOW!"**

Another burst of heat filled the air as her former ward somehow reformed his energy field, only this time it felt even worse than the last one. It was twisted and sickening, like a dying animal being tortured within an inch of its life. She could almost hear a painful shriek in the air as he shoved her out of the way and leapt back into the fight.

"Kai! Stop this at once! You're at your limit, you can't keep pushing the crystal, and you have no idea what it'll do to you!" She shouted, trying to reason with him. One look at his eyes told her that it was futile, but she had to try, she had to get through to him.

"_Blast it Rose, where are you when I actually need to speak to you!?"_ Starling screamed mentally.

For a brief moment, just the blink of an eye, she was able to see the ancient dragon, but it was not the sight she had hoped, in fact, it was just the opposite. The woman's robe garbed figure was clinging to Kai from behind tighter than a second skin, moving fluidly with each bend, every twist, and gliding along with his every blow. Unlike the few times she had seen this in the past however, Rose was not trying to restrain Kai, she was not trying to hold him back.

She was guiding his attacks and whispering soft words of hate and pain into his ears, spurring him on deeper and deeper into battle frenzy.

"_Has the world gone mad!?"_

Kai/Rose turned towards her with a half crazed half blood lusting grin, one that made her shiver. Kai had never wore such an expression before, but to see the normally collected and passive Rose level her with such a weighty leer was more than she could stand.

Falling back on her training, letting her instincts take over for the first time in years, Starling did something she never thought she would since meeting the Storm Hawks.

She mentally and emotionally ran away from it all, and allowed herself to run on auto pilot. Everything that was happening was more than her psyche could handle, so it 'shut down' and 'rebooted' into 'safe mode'.

Her face now a cool and passive mask. Cold, unfeeling, unyielding, and completely void of emotion.

"_I….have…to…keep…going!"_ Starling gritted as she brought around her nun chucks to deflect one Deathclaw's attack away from her and into another nearby Deathclaw's side.

Its howl of pain failed to reach her ears however. All she could hear was her own heartbeat and her own labored breathing. This was a fight for life, and she knew that the three of them were losing.

* * *

Kanin let loose a roar unlike anything she had ever heard before. Looking only out of the corner of her eye, she saw him leap up into the air and flip over a Deathclaw that had charged him. The attack missed, and instead of piercing the silvery furred warrior, it skewered another Deathclaw that had been behind him. The moment the werewolf landed, he brought his fists together and swung them hard into the back of the one that had tried to charge him, knocking it out cold.

* * *

"_Something….something is wrong."_

Feeling even more power surge from nearby, Starling yelped in surprise when something tugged on the front of her flight suit.

"What the blazes!?"

Looking down she saw something rising up in the middle of her chest, then fly out from a small freshly made hole.

Reaching up, Starling felt a cold sense of dread fill her stomach when she noticed that she was now only wearing _one_ crystal necklace. Lifting her gaze, she saw Kai holding his hand out towards her, and in almost slow motion, she saw the Shadow crystal fly into his open palm.

In the back of her mind, Starling could hear several chains braking, but was unsure of their source; only one thought was filling her mind, breaking through her mask, and crumbling her carefully constructed barriers.

"_I have to stop him; I have to reason with him, if I don't…"_

Black and purple light filled the room like an unholy rainbow.

"_No…"_

An inhuman cry of pain and rage filled the air, chilling her to the bone. She had never heard a sound like this before, but she recognized it all the same, one only had to hear a similar sound once in their life to know what it was.

A death cry.

Ducking under one Deathclaw's swipe, Starling felt a stinging sensation in her eyes and a heavy weight in her chest. She didn't know why, but she felt like she had just failed, failed at something that could not be undone.

Cold and nauseating light continued to fill the room. Waves of black intermingled with shades of dark blues, violets, and purples. Each passing wave felt like a knife in her back. Whatever they were, they carried pain and emotional scars with them. She even saw that the Deathclaws were being affected by them. Some of the smaller ones were even paralyzed on the spot while the larger ones seemed to slow down by just a bit.

"**DIE!"**

A black and crimson surge flew across the room slamming two very large Deathclaws into the back wall, _hard_. Starling shivered when she didn't see them get back up. Something was seriously wrong, and not just the odds. There was a sick, almost vile presence in the room, and it was getting stronger.

Rolling to the side, Starling evaded a Deathclaws attack. Seeing two others coming at her, she reacted quickly. Jumping on the first ones clawed hand (which was embedded in the METAL PLATE floor) Starling jumped onto its shoulder, then kicked off as hard as she could.

"_If I'm going down,"_ Starling thought as she spun her nun chuck around above her head.

"I'M TAKING AS MANY OF YOU AS I CAN WITH ME!"

Light purple crystal energy flowed through her body and into the palm of her hand as Starling brought her nun chuck down and slammed it into the floor with as much force as she could muster.

"DOWN BURST!"

The surge of violet energy pulsed outwards in every direction, throwing several Deathclaws back and even knocking a few of the closer ones flat on their backs.

* * *

Seeing that Starling was actually able to fight, Kanin snorted.

"**No woman is going to outdo me!"** Roaring, the silver furred destroyer dropped to all fours and charged the nearest Deathclaw. Tackling it to the ground, he quickly grabbed it by the ankle, reared back, and swung the prone creature like a medieval mace. This proved to be an effective 'weapon' as it was rather heavy and gave good reach, allowing Kanin to strike quite a few other Deathclaws with ease.

Laughing like a madman, Kanin grabbed onto the creatures ankle with his second hand and pivoted on his heel, hammer throwing the creature across the room.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw another dozen Deathclaws charging towards him, fully intent on avenging their fallen fellow.

With a wolfish grin, Kanin turned and changed, hanging his left arm out and letting his right arm drag across the metal floor, sending a shower of sparks around him.

"**Bring it on!"** Kanin cried out as he brought his now heat charged claws and severed the first Deathclaws arm clear of its torso. As the others attacked him, Kanin felt no pain, he wasn't aware of the deep gashes now littering his body, nor was he aware of the fallen bodies that filled the area around him. The only thing he was aware of was that there were still Deathclaws standing, and that more were coming.

As he continued to fight, Kanin saw from the corner of his vision a flicker of black and red. Years of survival instincts kicked and without understanding why, he grabbed the two nearest Deathclaws by the arms, yanked them to him, then turned towards the source of light, holding up the two Deathclaws as shields.

Seconds later, Kanin was thrown from where he was standing to the back wall, over ten yards from where he had been standing with the same amount of force as if he had fallen from the roof of his home.

* * *

Kai found himself in a torrent of raw emotions. Everything around him was a blur and nothing looked even remotely familiar. He could see basic shapes, but not clearly enough to distinguish what they were. His vision was clouded with a red haze that made shadows jump out at him and anything that moved like it was an enemy. His sense of smell and touch no longer reached him, and the only thing he could hear was the rapid beating of his heart.

"_How dare they even THINK they can get away with that!!"_ Rose's voice screamed painfully in his ears.

The moment Eden spoke _those_ words, Kai felt Rose break through every ounce of self control he had left. That alone had frightened and confused him to no end. _He_ was the one that was supposed to be 'overprotective' of his friend. Sure, he knew that Rose respected her, and that she even held the woman in a somewhat high regard compared to his other friends (especially Aladd). But she had never done or said anything that would lead him to expect a reaction like this from her.

"_Rose!? What's going on!?"_ Kai called out.

He tried to move his hands, his legs, anything, but nothing was working. His body was moving but he wasn't the one in control.

Rose was.

Her hands were entwined with his own, moving him like a puppet, and he could do absolutely nothing about it.

"_Unforgiveable, Eden WILL DIE BY MY CLAW!"_ Rose roared as she brought Kai's arm around and fired a blast of crimson and black energy, quickly forming it into a long flat 'blade'. Rose manipulated Kai's arm to bring the bladed arm around and sliced clean through several Deathclaws and a section of wall behind them like it was tissue paper.

Thinking back, Kai tried to recall what had happened. One minute he felt like dirt, the next he could feel Rose literally breathing down his neck, forcing his body to move, forcing him to fight at a level he had never even dreamed of.

"_Try to keep their remains in as close to one piece as you can, I would like to study them after they have been dealt with, particularly the female if at all possible."_

The words echoed through his mind, and again he felt Rose's anger boil over. Heat, power, raw energy was escaping from his every pore.

"_What….is….this?"_ Kai thought weakly as he felt Rose push his mind deeper and deeper into his subconscious.

"_No young one, this is not my doing, it is OUR doing. This is the combined effect of your emotions and my instincts…I am sorry Kai…I truly am."_

A cold shiver passed though Kai's being as he heard Rose speak.

"_Rose? But…if you're not doing this, who is?"_

As he spoke, Kai's body continued to tear through the Deathclaws one by one. His body was running on autopilot, no longer responding to his will, but to something far stronger. Nothing was able to get within ten feet of him. If it charged, he cut it down. If it leaped, he was behind it and floored it. No matter how fast they moved, he was faster. Pain from his muscles shredding and bones cracking only fueled his frenzied state. He didn't heal 'super' fast, just a little bit faster than average, so he knew that if they somehow go out of this, he was going to be on his back for some time.

Punching another Deathclaw, this time in its armored carapace back, Kai felt several bones break, and again his anger soared.

"_Kai…I never told you this because I didn't think….I didn't think it would ever become an issue."_ Rose said sadly. While this was not _entirely_ her fault, the blame laid a bit more with her than it did with Kai. This time anyways.

"_What is it then?"_ Kai asked.

"_Bloodlust Kai, its bloodlust. This is the price you pay for carrying me,"_ Rose said bitterly.

"_Bloodlust…you mean Dragons Rage? I thought that was just a myth? I mean, shouldn't this have happened before?"_ Kai asked confusion clearly evident in his voice.

Dragons Rage, a feral state that consumes the mind of dragon's on occasion. It is said to only occur when they are on the droves of death, when there is no chance of survival. Though it was only a myth as far as Kai was concerned because it had come up so rarely, even with the Ancients records.

"_No Kai….its not a myth…its real…very, very real."_

As she spoke, Kai watched as his body leapt into the air and released another burst of black light, dropping several Deathclaws to the ground without causing so much as a scratch.

"_But why didn't you tell me about this?! Why didn't I ever find anything? It makes no sense, if it's real, it would have been recorded in at least one archive!"_ Kai shouted, starting to feel cold and numb. His left arm already felt like it was incased in ice, now he could feel it spreading up towards his shoulder, like some kind of creeping vine.

"_Recorded? By whom? A feral leaves NOTHING alive. Who would be able to record such a sight?"_ Rose shot back, beginning to feel the boy's anger leaking into herself. It was surprising, this was all his doing, her fault, but his doing, yet he still didn't have the slightest clue.

"_How do I stop it then!?"_

Vision growing dim, Kai was able to see several shapes moving towards him in slow motion, only one of which he could recognize as he felt the coldness reach his chest and head.

Several Deathclaws tacked him to the ground, but it was already too late.

"Star…..run…." Kai muttered as his body rose to its knees, pushing the Deathclaws on his back up just enough for him to kneel.

A high pitch whistling sound, followed by a flash of light filled the room.

Then

Nothing

* * *

The silence was deafening. Starling saw the Deathclaw as it raised its arm, and changed. Before her very eyes, she saw Kai rise to his knees, claws flying over his head by mere inches. Something, she didn't know what, but something told her to run, she could hear it as though it were inside her head, but it was not an order that she head.

It was pleading.

Ducking down, she rolled behind the corpse of a Deathclaw right before a wave of black and scarlet light filled the room. At first, it sounded like the roar of a carrier's engine directly above her, then nothing. She couldn't hear _anything_, not a sound.

But she could still _feel_ as her body was thrown back along with the Deathclaw that had been in front of her. All around her, all she could see was a black mass with spider webbing lines of scarlet and crimson. The next thing she was aware of was pain, a sharp pain in the back of her skull as she felt herself get slammed into the thick metal wall of the room.

* * *

Seconds passed then a horrible ear piercing ringing filled her ears. The pain in her head was as excruciating from the ringing as it was from being thrown into the wall only moments before.

"_What….what happened…"_ Starling thought as she finally summoned the strength to push herself up from the ground.

"Ough…." Grabbing the sides of her head, Starling shuddered as she felt something cool and slick on her hands. Pulling one back, she groaned when she saw that it was blood, red blood.

It took her a few seconds to pull herself together so that she was able to stand, but even then she was only able to by learning against the wall.

"…………."

Starling's eyes widened.

"…………………………………"

Holding her hand in front of her face, she quickly snapped her fingers several times.

Nothing

"_Great, all I can hear is this infernal ringing, that will make things even harder, blast it all, and where is Kai?"_ Raising her head, Starling felt herself shudder yet again.

The room, while still standing looked like an Apocalypse crystal had gone off, and she was at ground zero. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the now much dimmer lighting, allowing her to see just how bad it was.

Wires and steel beams hung limply from the walls and ceiling, some falling around her, others looking about ready to drop without a moments notice. Parts of Deathclaws were all over the place, some sticking out of the floor, others _fused with_ the floor, but most of them were just _gone_. She knew there must have been several dozen Deathclaws in the room, but now, counting the parts, she doubted that there were five left, and none of them were alive.

"_What happened here? Did one of us hit something sensitive? Kai did say there were traps in these ancient constructs, but he never said anything about anything like that."_ Starling thought as she rubbed the back of her head, flinching when her glove found the source of the blood from earlier.

"_This is bad, we need to get out of here….but if I can't hear anything…"_

Putting her hands to her mouth, Starling called out Kai and Kanin's names, hoping that they could at least hear _her_. She continued calling out to the other two members of her 'team' as she slowly moved away from the wall. She knew she was limping a bit, but hoped it was only a mild sprain at worst. They couldn't afford any major injuries now.

Calling out for the hundredth time, Starling's eyes were drawn towards a source of movement at the far side of the room. Not able to tell exactly what it was, she readied her weapon as best she could, which wasn't much. The pain in her leg spiked shooting through her from her foot to her hip.

Her eyes widened when she saw that it was a massive Deathclaw, larger than any of the others she had seen so far. Beside the creature was yet another massive Deathclaw, but this one was not moving.

"_This is it…I don't have a chance against this thing like I am now…I'm sorry Kai,"_ she thought as she tried to swallow her fears down her dry throat.

The creature moved forwards, and then fell to the ground. Less than a second later the second one did as well.

"Kanin!"

Though she couldn't hear her own voice, it was obvious that the large silver warrior had. He was standing in a crouch position with his claws pointing outwards, each dripping with florescent green blood.

It was obvious be his stance and the green substance dripping from his claws that he had felled the two large Deathclaws only moments ago, quite likely saving her life.

He himself didn't look much better though. His fur was caked with blood, both his own and that of the Deathclaws. Entire sections of his fur were missing, looking almost like they had been burned or scorched off, and his right eye was swollen shut. She could see through his labored breathing and stiff posture that he was on his last leg, about ready to drop from exhaustion.

But he was alive.

Seeing his mouth move, Starling shook her head.

"I CANT HEAR ANYTHING!"

The silver male flinched and covered its sensitive ears with its large hands painfully, cringing at the volume of her voice.

"_I guess he can hear me at least,"_ Starling thought, slightly relieved.

"Do you know where Kai is? Have you seen him?" She asked, slightly quieter than before.

Raising its head, the half wolf took several whiffs from the air around him. She became worried when it took him several more seconds before even starting to move in a direction.

Lumbering towards her, Kanin pointed with his left arm off towards the side of the room furthest from where they came in.

Had Starling's hearing worked at the time, she would have heard a slight whimper come from the half beast as they started moving.

The two slowly made their way towards the final member of the mission group, wary of any movement. They were in rough shape, and neither one felt like trying to fight off anything, let alone a Deathclaw in their current shape.

Starling tried to piece together what had happened, but it was like something was blocking that part of her memory. She remembered entering this room, then the fight starting, but then, nothing. It was a total blank how she ended up against the wall looking like she lost a fight to a lawnmower.

"_It must be the bump I took to the noggin,"_ she reasoned as another painful throb ran through her head.

Starling limped against Kanin, who was likewise using her to not trip on anything. She had sight, he had hearing and smell. Apparently, his sense of pride was momentarily parked in the interest of survival.

* * *

The closer and closer they got to the wall, the less and less they saw. On the opposite end of the room there were several whole Deathclaws, and more than just a few 'parts' embedded into the wall and floor. But on this side of the room there were only black scorches and burn marks marring that walls and ceiling. Feeling his foot slide under him, Kanin stopped, stopping Starling dead in her tracks.

"What was that? Ice?"

Seeing the confusion on Starlings face, and remembering that at the moment she couldn't hear him, he rolled his still open eye and pointed down at the ground before reaching down to feel it.

It wasn't ice, whatever it was. It was slick as ice, but it felt warm to the touch.

He watched Starling bend down and examine it closer. Hearing her breath hitch, he knew it was bad.

"It….it's glass…._black glass_" Starling said bitterly.

"_Black glass? What on Atmos is black glass?"_ Stepping back slightly to allow more light on the area, Kanin scanned around the floor with his good eye.

"_Huh…that's strange. Where did glass come from? And why does it look like a five point star? Whoever did this must have been blind, or had no skill at all,"_ Kanin thought. Looking back at Starling however, he felt that something was wrong. Her eyes had a deep vacant look to them. Not one of fear or disbelief, more like one of haunting.

Chalking it up to something outsiders dealt with, Kanin tugged on Starling's arm and motioned with his head.

Shuddering, the purple haired woman clung to his already hurting arm like a vice. He might not have ever seen this 'black glass' before, but it was obvious that she had. And whatever it was, judging by the way she was acting, had to be bad.

When they reached the far wall, Kanin took several more sniffs. This was the part he had been dreading.

"_Which one do I lead her to? I can smell him everywhere…."_ Kai's scent was almost painful to his senses, it wasn't like a trail as it had been before, it was like a cloud, everywhere around them.

Feeling her hold on his arm release, Kanin looked down and saw her move slowly towards a twisted pile of what looked like scrap metal.

"_Probably fell from the explosion. We need to get out of here before the whole place is coming down around our ears,"_ Kanin thought cautiously as he eyed the still hanging (by what force he didn't know) beams above their heads.

Sniffling, and moments later crying filled his hearing, along with the scents of water and salt to his nostrils.

* * *

Not sure what it was, Starling felt like something was pulling her towards the pile of twisted metal in the center of the room. The floor, all around this area was scored with a black burn mark.

"_This must be where the explosion came from. Did Kai activate the crystals in his pack and toss it over here?"_ Starling thought as she made her way closer to the scrap heap.

A small shower of sparks from overhead illuminated the area, revealing the 'scrap heap' for what it really was.

"_No"_

A recognizable red and black pattern was easily seen on the metal protruding from under the pile of rubble.

Running towards the pile as fast as her injured leg would take her; Starling dropped to her knees next to what she had thought, what she hoped, what she prayed was just a pile of metal, clinching her teeth to block out the pain of her leg as best she could.

A few seconds of digger however revealed it to be the torn and frayed remains of a suit of armor.

Not caring that her gloves had been nearly burned to nothing, Starling pulled away the largest piece of metal, feeling metal biting into her skin, she let the pain fuel her, strengthen her.

As soon as it was moved, she saw him.

"Kai…no…" Starling choked when she saw his face.

Though pale, his face looked so calm, peaceful even.

But….lifeless…..

Reaching out with one hand, she tenderly ran her thumb across his cheek, feeling the cold flesh under resist her touch.

"_No"_

Biting her lip, and fearing the worst, she slowly moved her hand downwards to his chest. Even under his armor, she felt him breathing when he carried her not two hours ago, so she knew that she should still be able to feel it.

"_No"_

Kanin moved slowly next to her, his visible eye widened when he saw the sight before him.

"_No, this isn't happening, this isn't right, this isn't happening, not again, not for me, NOT AGAIN!"_ Starling screamed in her mind as memories she had buried long ago were being pulled to the surface, memories she had buried and swore never to dwell on again.

The surprise attack at the break of dawn.

The people running for the evacuation carriers

Her squadron taking to the sky to meet the Raptors in battle.

Her falling by Reptions blade.

Her squadron dying because they hid her, kept her safe when she was unconscious from injury.

Their lives, for hers.

Balling her fists, Starling felt her heart clinch as tears began pouring down her face.

"Why is it always me…why? WHY?!" Starling growled in both grief and anger.

Kanin looked away, wanting to give her some semblance of privacy. Woman or not, she was a warrior, that much he acknowledged, and this much she had earned.

"_Why is it others are always dying for me? Why do I have to keep living at the cost of others?!"_ Despite her tears, she felt her face twist into a scowl and her fists tighten, driving her nails into her scraped and bleeding palms.

"_First my parents…then my Squadron…now…my friend….its not fair…."_

"IT'S NOT FAIR!" Slamming her fists on Kai, Starling let loose a cry of anguish that echoed through out the entire ancient structure.

"You promised!"

_Punch_

"You swore!"

_Punch_

"You swore on your honor you wouldn't use that blasted crystal again!"

_Punch_

"You promised me…_hiccup_…"YOU PROMISED!" Starling screamed before collapsing onto her friend's chest a sobbing wreck. The pain she felt was unimaginable, she had grieved for her parents, more than enough friends, and even her squadron, and while they all hurt greatly, this one hurt differently. Not as bad as her parents, not as cold as her friends, and not as stinging as her comrades.

This pain was emptiness.

Kanin was about to intercede when the young woman pushed herself up with a feral growl. With speed driven by desperation, she removed the chest plate of Kai's armor and tossed it aside.

"NO! I won't let you! You're not getting out of this, not now, not today!" Starling shouted as she placed her left hand over his heart and her right above it.

"_I will not continue living at the expense of others, not if I can help it. I'm not the freighted little girl that I was when my parents died, I'm not leagues away like I was when my friends died, and I'm not unconscious like when I lost my Squadron. I'm here, and I'll see Perditions Flames before I let him get away with doing something like this!"_

"Wake up!"

Slamming her raised fist onto her flat left hand, she repeated the action several times, her breathing become more and more haggard as her shuddering grew worse.

"I order you to wake up!" Starling shouted bringing her fist down again.

Feeling the reflex of air moving out of his chest under her hand, Starling's eyes widened.

"_There's still a chance!"_

She knew that the 'breathing' she had felt was just a reflex, the air being pushed out of his chest from the force of her blows, but it was still something. His heart had stopped, as had his breathing, but she knew that anything that had been stopped could be restarted, even a person.

Slamming her fists around his heart several times, she stopped and placed one hand directly onto his heart.

A tiny faint flutter so weak that it might as well have not been there at all, but there nonetheless.

"_He's still not breathing, but if his heart is beating again, there's still time."_

Mission mask back in place, Starling pinched his nose, took a deep breath, and quickly lowered her mouth to his own.

"_Please, please let this work,"_ Starling begged as she forced the air from her lungs and into Kai's.

* * *

"_What…..happened to me? Why am I so cold?"_ Kai thought as he felt a stinging sensation spread across his body. Starting as a cold sting, it worsened until it became a dull burn that gained strength with every passing second.

"_Hurts…so much…gahhh, its….."_

Just as the burning pain reached his limit, Kai could feel a wave of coolness wash over him and lessen the flames, weakening them slightly.

"_What was that?"_ Trying to open his eyes or move was nearly impossible, he knew how, he just couldn't, it felt like he had a very full and sleeping Wallop using him for a pillow.

Another wave washed over him, weakening the burning he felt in his muscles and chest even more.

"_This….feeling…its….its almost the same….as when I almost drowned,"_ Kai thought as he could feel tiny ebbs of strength retuning to him. It wasn't much, but he could feel it.

A third wave passed over him, clearing just a tiny bit of the fog in his head. Thinking was still difficult, and it hurt almost as bad as Harrier's singing, but he could feel a single thought passing through his mind, one tiny thought that seemed to be yelling at him.

"_I'm….forgetting….something….but…what?"_

A fourth wave passed over him, weakening the fog even further.

"_I know….its something…important….but…."_

Then, like a hammer breaking through a window, a voice shattered his thoughts.

"BREATH BLAST YOU! BREATH!"

The order forced his brain into overdrive, remembering the critical task that his body and mind both seemingly forgot to carry out.

Forcing his lungs open Kai did just as he had been commanded, and felt a far stronger wave pass through him than the previous four as his lungs filled with oxygen.

Forcing his eyes open, for a brief moment he could see nothing, but that nothing soon became a face less than an inch from his own, one with purple locks of hair and forest green eyes that held more fear than he thought ever should.

As soon as he could make out her face, he felt everything go black, and fell back into darkness.

* * *

"No! Kai! Wake up! Please!"

Starling shook his body several times, feeling her fear overwhelming her.

"_No, I can't loose him twice in one day!"_ Getting ready to try and revive him again, Starling felt her fears give way when she was able to see the steady rise and fall of his chest.

"_He's breathing? But then, why is he…it doesn't matter; right now we need to get out of here. I'm only trained for field medicine, I'm not a medic!"_

In the back of her mind, Starling knew that Kai was still in a great deal of danger. All she did was give his heart and lungs a jump start, but there was still a chance that she had been too late.

Turning to the only other member of their group, Starling ignored his surprised expression.

"We need to get out of here. I'm not sure there is enough explosives in existence to destroy this instillation, the best we can try to do is seal it, but we'll need to do that from the outside. Can you get us to the exit?" Starling asked pensively.

Nodding his head, Kanin reached out and was about to take Kai's unconscious form when Starling stopped him.

"Kanin, I know this is asking a lot from you, but can you carry us both? I don't think I would be able to make it out under my own strength."

For a moment, the large Bloodclaw visibly slumped, but it then nodded its head before lifting Kai carefully, and held him in front of Starling, and motioned her towards the unconscious teen with his snout.

Starling, not quite understanding what she was supposed to do, stepped behind Kai and wrapped her arms around him to hold him up, guessing that Kanin needed her to prop him up so that he could get a better hold on him.

That idea was blown out of the water when he turned on his heel and scooped up both her and Kai into his massive arms.

"Ahh!"

Starling squirmed as she felt herself being crushed from all sides, the pain in her leg no longer her only concern. Feeling something cold and hard in her hands, she looked down and saw that it was part of Kai's armor. Moving her gaze around, she soon figured out what Kanin had done. He might not have been able to lift them separately, but by her standing behind Kai, he had been able to lift them both up as one might a large piece of wood. She was being held from underneath by both of his arms, while she in turn was holding up Kai in her arms.

Still unable to hear anything, Starling focused as hard as she could on her sight, and focused on the boy in her arms. She could feel his breathing, but there were so many other possible problems that she couldn't think straight. Doing the only thing that she could, Starling tightened her grip and pulled Kai as close to her as she could, trying to will her strength to him.

* * *

Kanin's mind was abuzz with everything that had happened in the last few minutes. Though he was a Bloodclaw, he had not been one for very long. His 'battles' mainly consisted of hunts or spars. He had fought a few predators while trying to return to his village in the past, but nothing like this.

"_What are those things? These…Deathclaws? Where did the come from?"_

Though battle had been fairly decent in length; to him it had only been a few seconds. His mind shifted into survival mode and blanked out the moment the doors had opened and the Deathclaws flooded the room.

"_Hmp, my first actual battle, I didn't even get to fight it!"_

Moving as fast as he could with the load in his arms, Kanin tried to summon even a tiny piece of memory from the battle that he could. He knew that he had fought, his muscles ached worse than when he had undergone the Blood Ritual where had to fight four of the Elders. If that wasn't enough, he could hear the blood dripping form him with every step he took, both his own, and that of his fallen enemies. The cuts, scrapes and gashes that littered his body ached and screamed with every step and every breath he took. But he couldn't shake the felling that the victory had been a hollow one.

When his battle high wore off, the first thing he remembered seeing was two large Deathclaws facing away from him. The moment he saw Starling enter his field of vision, he figured out their plan, and literally cut them off. In the moments after this, but before the woman had nearly driven him deaf, he took in the sight around him. Bodies, parts of bodies, rubble, in a word, it was absolute and total desolation. And while this was not something that would usually bother him, he had the distinct feeling that he had not been the cause of this, not by a long shot.

When Starling had asked him to find Kai, he quickly found that the entire room was filled with the boys scent. It wasn't that he had _been_ all over the room, it was that he _was_ all over the room. He had thought for sure the Deathclaws had gotten hold of the teen, but took Starling to the strongest source of the scent, sensing that the two shared a powerful bond, and that the boy should at least have some form of final rights. He might not have been from his pack, but the he had proven himself to be a warrior in his eyes, as had his companion.

When the body was found, he tried to give them a moment of privacy, but that was shattered when he heard the sound of her firsts pounding on him.

Horrified that she would desecrate the remains of what he assumed to be a brother in arms, he was shocked again to see her lower her face to Kai's.

For a moment, he thought it to be some tradition of outsiders, perhaps the taking of a fallen warrior strength or something. But when his hearing detected a fait heartbeat, he felt his blood turn to ice water.

Looking down at the load in his arms, Kanin felt a new sense of respect, and fear for the small woman that now held their third comrade as tightly as could be.

"_He was dead, I know he was. His heart had stopped and I know he wasn't breathing."_

Making a turn when they reached the end of the hallway, Kanin continued to follow their combined scents from when they entered.

"_So how was she….how did she…is she a shaman to her people? No, that can't be it; no shaman would take to the ways of war as this one does. She is a fighter, a warrior if I've ever seen one. But no warrior can perform such a feat. What is she? Is she even human?"_

Kanin was not a coward, there was not a single cowardly thought that had ever entered his mind, and there had never been a fight he had run away from. But even he had his limits, and what he had seen defied every story he had heard and every kill he had seen or made in person. Life was, and then it wasn't. Once the breath left the body, the body died.

"_But she….she returned that to him, she gave him back his breath. How is that possible?"_

Thinking back to the few times he had observed the two, he could plainly tell that the two had a close relationship, one that was rare among siblings or the best of friends.

Looking down at them again, he was able to see for himself that the boy's chest was rising and falling steadily.

"_You can't return the breath once it's gone…."_

Kanin's eyes widened.

"_Unless she gave him her own!"_

Finding that this solution seemed to answer everything (to him anyways) Kanin felt a small grin spread itself across his muzzle.

"_Few would be willing to do such a thing Kai. You had better not let this one go, it'd be your biggest blunder yet."_

The large werewolf continued to run towards the exit, but came to a sliding stop when it came into sight.

* * *

"I'm afraid that I can not allow you to go any further. The three of you are contaminated and must be dealt with before you spread it further and ruin the Earth."

Kanin snarled as the holographic form of Eden appeared between them and the exit.

Along with several dozen more Deathclaws.

Tightening his hold on the two in his arms, Kanin felt anger and sadness well up from within him. He wasn't sure why, but he felt compelled to protect the two outsiders. It was like hearing a story only to have it end prematurely.

Looking down with his one good eye, Kanin saw Starling curl up against Kai and hold him as tightly and as closely as humanly imaginable. She might not have said it, but her words were plain as day to him.

_Over my dead body!_

Feeling the same sentiments himself, Kanin dropped into a charge stance and flexed his foot claws.

"_I'm not going to let it end like this!"_

Roaring, the silver charged headlong towards the small army of Deathclaws, only to be stopped by a wall of crystal rising up from the ground around him.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Eden. It would interfere with _my_ plans."

* * *

Kanin turned towards the source of the voice, as did Eden and the group of Deathclaws.

Starling looked over Kai's shoulder towards the source of the voice, focusing on the dark hallway where she was able to hear the distinct clicking of boots on metal.

"Identify yourself!" Eden demanded as several more lights activated, illuminating the room with a soft white glow.

There, in the middle of the room was a figure garbed in a dark purple hooded cloak.

"_No, not here, not now! How did the Cyclonian's reach us so quickly!? I thought we still had several days lead on them!"_ Starling thought in horror.

The hooded figure looked up in the direction of the assembled group, and then turned towards Starling, revealing not the expected cold violet orbs of Lark Cyclonis, but a pair of dark orange, almost gold colored eyes.

In an instant, the cloaked figure disappeared in a flicker before reappearing between the Deathclaws and Kanin.

"Starling."

Jumping at hearing the slightly familiar voice call her name, the woman swallowed nervously before responding.

"Ye…yes?"

Starling watched as the hooded figure turned to gaze at her from over its shoulder. Though the face was still mostly hidden from view, she could have sworn that she saw a pair of dark lips curl into a warm smile.

"Take care of him for me. I'll try to catch up as soon as I can."

Before she could ask any questions, Starling, along with Kai and Kanin were enveloped with a light blue and white glow. Everything around them seemed to melt away like waking from a dream.

When the light faded, the trio found themselves to be outside of the gate they had used to enter the Ancient construct.

"What….happened?" Kanin asked as he blinked several times.

"I…I'm not sure, but we have to go back, we can't leave her in there!" Starling shouted. _"Who was she? I know that I've heard that voice somewhere before…but where?"_

Kanin was about to retort when the entire side of the canyon began to sprout crystals thicker than Kanin's whole body. The crystals continued to grow from the ground and walls, crisscrossing to cover the entire area and block the gate from being entered of exited.

"That wall of crystal…it must several meters thick! How did she do that?" Starling wondered out loud.

"I don't know….I've seen our villages shaman do something similar, but it was nowhere near this size or magnitude," Kanin replied in awe of what he had just seen. Shaking his head, the warrior turned and moved towards the exit of the canyon, both he and Starling remaining silent as they pondered what they had seen.

"_Take care of him for me. I'll try to catch up as soon as I can."_ As the words echoed in the back of her mind, Starling couldn't help but wonder if she should be glad, or dread the next time this person crossed paths with them.

* * *

Lowering her hand, the woman turned back to face Eden and scowled.

"You have no idea how long I have waited for this day, no idea how I have longed to finally meet you _Eden_."

The floating head quirked an eyebrow at the small figures tone.

"I do hope that you realize just what kind of mess you have caused, and what you have done to yourself. Those three will be the ruin of the planet, and it will be your fault. I was doing the world a service by removing such….rabble from existence."

Reaching up, a slender arm pulled back the hood covering its face, revealing a mane of dark blue hair.

"No….that is where you are wrong Eden. They will not ruin the Earth; your people already did that many years ago. They will do nothing worst than what you and your creators did during the Darkest Day, I doubt anyone _could_ do worst."

"We did what had to be done. It was the only way to preserve the purity of the Earth,' Eden defended.

The bluenette chuckled darkly. "Earth is dead, only Atmos remains. I will do whatever it takes to preserve what is left of this world, and that includes removing threats to it such as yourself."

Eden, despite not being programmed for humor nearly laughed at that remark.

"Your situation is highly dubious. You are but one human, a crossbreed to be sure, but still mostly human. You have done nothing but temporarily slow me down. By sealing the gate you have shut off your only means of escape. You are locked in here with us," Eden taunted.

Pulling her staff from the inside of her cloak, the woman smiled.

"That is where you are wrong Eden. As a good friend of mine once said many years ago, I am not locked in here with you."

As the clawed staff extended to its full length, the white and blue crystals at each end began to glow and resonate.

"You, are locked in here, with me."

* * *

End chapter 23

Oh yeah, Archer is a meanie lol. The character that appeared at the end of this chapter is the same one that has made a few appearances in previous chapters. I've given a few more clues as to who it is, but the big clue won't be for a little while longer. I've still got the battle at the village to write out, and the end of this arc, along with the end of this book, so that should bring this volume of WOC to an end around chapter 25 or 26. I hope you'll forgive how long it took, but I was hit with a case of writers block, and this chapter had a lot in it, so it was a hard one to write. Yes Starling did give Kai CPR, the reason Kanin didnt know what it was though is as I explained before, its a backwater terra, and it doesnt really have much in the way of water, so CPR wouldnt be something they ever needed or would have developed on their own.

If I still have any readers out there, I'll try to respond to any reviews that I can within a week or so, annon reviews are still welcomed but I cant respond to those. I'll try to get started on the next chapter ASAP but I can't make any promises.

Oh, and special prize to whoever can figure out where the line at the end is from, it's a fairly recent movie (that has nothing to do with Storm Hawks) I just thought it was cool and wanted to find a way to work it in lol.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	24. Discoveries! Diseases! And Designs?

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 24: Discoveries! Diseases! And Designs?

AN: Alright, I know this chapter is a bit late, but there are several reasons for that. First I am trying to write multiple stories on multiple series, so it takes me awhile to do that. Secondly this chapter includes one of the two mystery characters from pervious chapters. Still not time to reveal names, but you'll get a better look at him and learn some more about him. Writing him in a way so as not to give away who he is or who his partner is, I had to write it in a different way than usual, also since he's got a decent sized part this time around, that's another reason it took some time to write up. The last reason was that I am introducing a NEW CHARACTER in this chapter, one of Arashi21's creations that has a major part in both of our works. So I had to send it to him to make sure I did it right, then he sent it back to me, then I had to finish it…yeah.

Which reminds me, **HE UPDATED FIGHTING WING!** Go check it out, the new chapter rocks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda or the 'Deathclaws'. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Nintendo and Bethsaida (I think) however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, Kanin, Tsuki, Majah and this story.

Shadow, Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25  
Tigger and Aladd belong to Misery J. Voldemort  
Marina is nuts for Star Wars'  
Rondana was made, and is owned by Missy-Dedocakes  
Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame  
????? belongs to Arashi21

* * *

Piper rubbed her face with the back of her sleeve and sighed. For about an hour now, she, Tigger and Radarr had been working on reversing the polarity of the Lunar crystals that lined the hull of Kai's ship.

Now, she was no stranger to hard work. She had gone many a sleepless night helping to work on the Condor, plotting their next day's course, and refining crystals. But this was far from what she was used to. Kai's ship was a technological marvel and horror all rolled into one. She recognized that several of the parts were Cyclonian, as well as several that she knew to be from Free Atmos, but then, there were other parts.

"What the heck is that thing?!" Tigger's voice echoed throughout the ships hull.

Piper cringed. Her plan had been so simple at the time. But from there, it had evolved into something much more.

Crystals were simple, yet complicated. In most cases they gave off a field of energy that could be utilized for a number of purposes. The only known exception to this was the Leech crystal, which absorbed energy then once it reached maximum capacity, would detonate.

This was something Piper knew very, _very_ well. So the fact that this ship used crystals to _absorb_ energy should have grabbed her attention right away. But with all the madness that was normally associated with Kai, she hadn't even thought twice about it.

So, instead of trying to make crystals do something that was contrary to their nature, they found themselves trying to make them do what they _normally_ did. This started with inspecting the crystals themselves, which Piper concluded were everyday run of the mill Lunar crystals. Nothing strange or unique about them.

So, if it wasn't the crystals that were responsible for absorbing energy, that left only one other possibility.

It had to be something about the ship itself.

Tigger had helped repair the ship several times over the course of their journey, but it had all been mostly superficial. Fixing an engine here, refastening an armor plate there, or replacing burnt sections of wiring. This meant she had never actually seen or noticed anything different about the ship from any other one she had worked one before.

Knowing that SOMETHING had to be making the crystals act as collectors rather than producers of energy, they pried an interior wall panel off and found nothing but the wiring one would expect to see. So, after they managed to get it back into place, the trio sat down and drew up a small diagram of the ship.

Flashback

"Ok, this ship is only so big. It can't be just anywhere." Tigger's voice carried a note of annoyance that both of the other parties were starting to feel themselves.

"Well, let's look at this from a logical point of view. If there are no wires connected to the crystals on the ships hull, then something must be drawing energy from them…how?"

Looking at the impromptu sketch that Piper had drawn of the ship, Tigger frowned.

"I don't know, mechanics are my thing and I know plenty about crystals…but…this is beyond me."

Radarr merely watched and listened.

"What _could_ it be then?" Piper asked.

Leaning against the galleys bench cushion, Tigger shook her head. "With Kai, it could be anything. It's probably some Ancient tech he found and crammed into some dark corner somewhere."

"But…I thought you said Kai wasn't all that good a mechanic?" Piper asked, confused by the inconsistency of Kai's mechanical skills.

"He's ok, but he's not a gear head. He makes things work through process of elimination or trial and error," Tigger explained.

"Ok then, that means he didn't do it," Piper stated.

Tigger raised an eyebrow.

"Kai said that Ancient tech is temperamental. So I doubt he would mess around with something like this."

Tigger looked around the ships small kitchen and frowned.

"But this is a standard Cyclonian tender ship. I've seen tons of them, shot down plenty of them too."

Piper groaned. "I know same here. But there must be something we're overlooking, something small or simple."

"Well…what about his skimmers? Those things aren't exactly standard are they?" Tigger offered.

"No, but they were built using standard parts. He might have tweaked them a bit, but you can still tell what they were made from," Piper retorted.

"So? Nothing on this ship is normal. Most of the equipment that runs this ship might be Cyclonian, but I've seen plenty of stuff that isn't."

"Go on," Piper urged, not making any sense of what she was saying, but hoped that the girl would at least figure something out to help them on her own.

"The wiring comes from Free Atmos ships, I know that. Cyclonian ships use iron wire which overheats and has to be replaced every so often. Free Atmos wiring is made of copper, so it doesn't overheat and is able to carry a stronger charge. That's why our ships, even the old ones have stronger shields."

Piper listened carefully, but said nothing, instead she allowed the younger girl to continue.

"Then you have all of the systems themselves. The weapons are all Murk tech…I think, I've never really had a chance to take anything of theirs apart before. But I know it's not ours or Cyclonian at least."

"How do you know that?" Piper asked, not really interested in the source of the technology as much as how Tigger was able to tell how it was out of place.

"Free Atmos crystal weapons have a concave lens that focuses the energy into a more concentrated beam. Cyclonian weapons are pretty much the same but they have lenses made of crystal instead of glass. But the weapons on this ship have overlapping lenses. They almost look like a four leaf clover that's had its leaves folded inward then had a big crystal lens put on top of them. It's like a super refractor of some kind. I actually drew up some plans for them to try and make once this is all over," Tigger explained.

"Uh…huh. Anything else?" Piper asked, all the techno babble going over her head. She understood the gist of it, but not the more complicated bits.

"Take your pick. The engines came from a Cyclonian destroyer, the shields are from a Free Atmos cruiser, and I've never seen half the stuff in the command cabin before. The controls work more like a skimmer's than an actual ship's," Tigger explained.

"So what your saying is, nothing on this ship actually came with it."

Tigger nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, if anyone else went through and did what he did, I'm sure they would have done the same. He took the best he could find and put them together. Isn't that what everyone wants?" Piper asked.

Tigger shrugged. "True, but it makes you wonder why he went through all the trouble in the first place. He could have just as easily took a bigger ship and did the same thing. It would have made more sense actually, he wouldn't have had to stuff and shove so much in such a tiny space."

"It might have been the best he could do Tigger. Remember, its not like he can just stroll around like the rest of us to a used carrier lot, he's got a price on his head," Piper pointed out.

"So? He lives in the freaking ship graveyard of Atmos Piper! Do you have any idea how many wrecked ship hulks are in terra Deep? There must be hundreds, and that's only counting what the Murks have done in the last hundred years."

Piper's eyes widened.

"Tigger…what…what if…this wasn't actually a Cyclonian ship?"

Tigger's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about Piper?"

Piper bit her lip; a trait that Tigger had learned meant that she wasn't as nervous as she was thinking.

"What if…just suppose for a minute that this wasn't a Cyclonian tender ship."

"Uh, Piper, take a look at it. If it looks like a duck, fly's like a duck, and quacks like a duck, guess what? It's a duck."

Piper shook her head.

"What if it was only made to _look_ like a Cyclonian tender ship?"

Tigger mulled the idea over and frowned. "I don't know…that would take an awful lot of work…and why would he even bother going through that much trouble?"

"So everyone would _think_ it was a Cyclonian tender ship," Piper replied with a knowing smirk.

Following Piper's logic, Tigger tried to make heads or tails of it.

"So…you think he went through all this trouble just to make something look like something its not? But why? A ships a ship. Who cares what it looks like?"

"You just answered your own question Tigger," Piper answered rising from her seat and heading to the exit.

"_A ships a ship…who cares what it looks like? I don't get it. Why would someone try to make a ship look like something its not? Sure, it might stand out less, but that's hardly worth trying to cover over. The only reason I can think of would be if it stuck out like a sore thumb otherwise. But what kind of ship would.."_

"Holy Mary! This things an Ancient!" Jumping from her seat, Tigger chased after Piper down the corridor.

Flashback end

When the two reached the realization of what they were dealing with, they started at the front of the ship and worked their way back, looking for anything that stood out or just didn't seem to belong. That proved to be rather difficult however given just how many things on the ship were out of place. While it did indeed look like a small Cyclonian vessel, the more attention the two paid to the finer details, the more and more things stood out.

First, welding scores could be seen every few feet of the hull, proving that it had put together like a puzzle, not constructed like a normal ship. Tigger had commented that this explained why the thing was always falling apart from engine stress, not because the engines were too much for the ship, but because the ship had not been built to normal specifications, it had only been built to _look_ like it had.

Overall, it was a very convincing form of camouflage. They had been riding in the ship for weeks and hadn't even noticed it. That alone said plenty, especially since Starling was Special Forces and Tigger was an expert mechanic.

Then again, Kai _was_ known for being incredibly good at hiding things. And what better place to hide something than out in the open?

After examining the ship from stem to stern, the two girls were convinced that there was much more to this ship than they had realized.

"Ok, so we know that there is more to this ship than we thought. But we still don't have a clue of what we're looking for. How would we even recognize it?" Piper asked, frustrated at the lack of finding anything of use other than potential blackmail material on Kai.

"I know! Geeze Piper calm down. We're dealing with something that is a bit out of our league here. We need to keep calm and figure this out."

Piper groaned and tapped her head against the ships hull with a dull thud.

"Now, if he was trying to pass this off as a Cyclonian ship, it means that it must have looked at least somewhat similar to one. So, he took a bunch of parts from other ships and used them to make it look more like one. That means that there must be _some_ part of the original ship here. The question is, _where_?"

"It's not on the inside, that's for sure. I haven't seen two wall panels yet that look like they came from the same ship."

Inside her minds eye, Tigger made a sketch of the ship. Noting where the various bits and pieces that she knew were not from the same ships, she stripped them away one by one.

"_Take off the hull, the weapons, the engines, and the electrical equipment…that doesn't leave much. Heck, all that really leaves is the…bottom."_

Walking towards the exit ramp, Tigger called Piper and Radarr after her.

* * *

Running as fast as her legs could carry her, Marina picked up the pace when the village finally came within sight.

"_I might hate that cesspool and wish that it would burn to the ground, but I've never seen anything look more beautiful than those walls right about now,"_ Marina thought while she forced her lungs to continue pumping air.

When the two guards at the gate saw her, she didn't even bother speaking to them; she just ran by them and continued into the village. She needed to find Rondana, and she wanted to put as much distance between her and the forest as possible.

Flashback

As she backed away from the pond with her 'package' tied firmly shut, Marina felt her skin crawl.

"_Something's watching me out there…but where?"_

Straining her sensitive hearing, she tried to concentrate on something, anything that would give her a clue. There were no birds chirping or insects calling, and she couldn't hear any sign of movement at all. What really unnerved her however was the lack of even the lightest breeze in the air.

"_Whatever it is, it's staying as still as a statue."_

Looking down, she noticed for the first time that her hand was shaking every so slightly.

"_What…what is this feeling? Why can't I stop shaking? I know it's not cold here, I can feel the sweat on my back. Is this what it feels like to be afraid?"_

Marina, despite everything she had been through in life, had never once felt truly afraid of anything. Wary perhaps, and even extreme aversion. But not once had she felt completely and totally afraid.

"_What's wrong with me!? For Nayru's sake, I'm a Dragmire, I fear nothing!"_ Even though she shouted this to herself over and over, she couldn't quite make herself believe it.

As soon as she reached the tree line, she bolted. She was used to feeling adrenalin rushes when fighting, but this was a new experience for her.

She lived in a land where only the strongest could survive, and even then there was no guarantee. She had stopped counting how many assassination attempts had been made on her life years ago, or how many near death experiences she had from fighting whatever was thrown her way, be it humanoid or beastly. She had fought and defeated people far more skilled than her, fought and killed creatures many times larger than herself, and had hunted some of the most dangerous predators terra Gerudo had to offer.

But not once had _she_ been the prey.

Something moved out of the corner of her sight, but the moment she turned to get a better view it was gone.

Pumping her legs harder, she increased her speed, not going full out since she didn't want to tire herself out, but pretty close to it.

Behind her she was able to hear a second set of footsteps, almost keeping perfect rhythm with her own in an attempt to mask themselves.

Taking a quick look over her shoulder, she couldn't see anything, just dead tree's as far as the eye could see.

"_What's going on here? Why is it following me like this? If it's stalking me, it's had plenty of opportunities to attack, so why hasn't it?"_

Running over the excruciatingly short list of possibilities, Marina came to one conclusion, and it made her stomach turn to lead.

"_Because it's enjoying the chase."_

Marina herself knew the feeling well. She had done this many times in the past. She knew it was wrong, and it was a part of her that caused more than just a little bit of shame, but the only thing that would get her blood pumping more than a good fight, was the knowledge that some poor unwitting creature was only breathing right now because she let it, because she hadn't decided to attack yet. She blamed her father for this, but knew it to be in the blood of all Gerudo.

Right now though, she was the unwitting creature.

Blocking out every distraction, every sound, every scent and every sight, she pushed forward.

"_There is something very wrong in this forest and I'm not sticking around to see what it is,"_ Marina thought.

Flashback end

Not once had she actually seen what it was, but she had sensed it easily enough. It hadn't even bothered to try and hide its presence from her.

It wanted her to know it was there.

With one last shudder, Marina finally came to a stop in front of her goal.

"Ron...RONDANA!"

Stepping outside of the wooden cabin, the young medic was surprised to see Marina gasping for breath.

"Marina! What on Atmos happened to you? Is everything alright?"

The older woman shook her head as she tried to catch her breath.

"No _*pant*_ something _*pant*_ something is not right _*pant*_." Stopping to catch her breath, Marina stood straight and took a deep breath.

"Rondana, something is out there, in the forest," Marina whispered.

The younger woman peered over Marina's shoulder into the forest and squinted. For a brief moment she thought she saw something, but it disappeared as soon as she blinked.

"_That's weird, I could have sworn..."_ Turning her attention back on her unnerved friend, Rondana frowned. _"She looks upset, but what could have done this to her? She doesn't look like she's injured physically, and I know she's been through some tough spots before. What could have spooked her this badly?"_

"Maybe you should start from the top…and what happened to your pants?"

Remembering her 'cargo' Marina gasped.

"I think I might have found something…a clue about what's wrong with the Blood Claws," Marina whispered as she held up the cut piece of cloth in one hand. She tried to project a wiry smirk, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"Well, what is it?" Rondana asked impatiently. She knew her friend had apparently just been through an ordeal, but any clues as to what was ailing the village's warriors took top priority right now. She was a medic after all.

Marina shook her head.

"Not out here. We need a lab."

Rondana looked around for a moment until she spied Majah.

"Come on, well use his!" Rondana ordered before grabbing the taller woman's forearm and dragged her towards the village healer.

Casting one last glance over her shoulder, Marina's eyes widened when she saw what looked like a young man crouching on a tree branch just beyond the city's gate.

When she blinked he was gone, but that did nothing to stop the shudder that passed through her body. It had been only a brief glimpse, and she hadn't been able to get a good look at him, but one thing stuck out above all else.

His eyes.

From well over fifty yards away she had been able to make out those ominous amber colored orbs. The things literally had been glowing.

Not wanting to think about the subject any further, Marina started to willingly follow Rondana rather than allow herself to be dragged.

* * *

Landing without making so much as a sound, the figure smirked.

"_Good, she got back. I didn't know how much longer I was going to be able to cover her. There are far too many Deathclaws roaming about now."_ Looking over his shoulder, he frowned. _"I just hope it bought them enough time. Now I just need to find-"_ Feeling a massive surge of energy growing to the villages north, his body reacted on its own.

"_Bugger! I told her not to overdo it!"_ Running at top speed, the man jumped into the air and grabbed a limb from the bottom. Reversing his grip he hoisted himself up into a crouch on the branch, then jumped onto a higher one.

"_This day just keeps getter better and better,"_ he thought sarcastically.

Flashback

It had taken next to no effort to down the fleet of Cyclonian ships. For all intents and purposes they were little more than large slow moving targets.

What came after that had been less than his morning exercises.

Several divisions of cookie cutter Cyclonian troops had formed up between him and the massive metal doors imbedded into the side of the mountain.

"This is your only warning! Put down your weapons and get down on the ground now!" One of the soldiers called out with a bullhorn.

Not paying the warning any attention, he continued walking towards the door.

"Open fire!"

The moment the order was given; red crystal fire filled the space between the assembled group and the lone individual.

"_This takes me back. Futile resistance,"_ he chuckled to himself.

Growing tired of the crystal fire pelting him, he spread open his translucent wings to their fullest and propelled himself with one great flap.

"**My turn!"**

With a bestial roar, he punched his left fist into the ground, throwing all of his strength into it, and then focused a burst of crystal energy behind it.

The result was a massive crack splintering in the rock and moving towards the men like hungry serpent followed by a geyser of energy.

"Fall back! Fall back!"

Chuckling to himself as he watched the soldiers scurry about and into the massive cavern, the figure rose from his kneeled position and once again started marching towards his destination.

When the two doors, each of which was the size of the Condor slammed closed however, he cursed his carelessness.

"_Great, this could take a while,"_ he thought dryly as he looked over the towering set of gates.

Flashback end

A lone Deathclaw leapt up at him from below. Many years of fighting just to survive had honed his instincts to a level normally only animals could attain.

A rather ironic point given just how long he had fought to prove the opposite true.

"Been awhile hasn't it old friend?" He sneered before throwing his weight forward into a flip. The moment he felt his feet make contact with the Deathclaw's head, he pushed off, using it like a stepping stone. The action propelled him several feet up and forward fairly quickly, and had the bonus effect of knocking the Deathclaw back down like a speeding bullet.

The creature's impact left a crater several feet deep.

"_This is getting old. I can see why he wanted to move things forward a bit."_

Flashback

Slowly opening his eyes, it took a moment for the room to stop spinning. It had been quite a while since he had absorbed anywhere near this much energy.

"_Man, how could anyone do this? It's like having your head held underwater for an hour,"_ he groaned as he sank to his knees and clutched his throbbing head.

"_He never said anything about this before, AHH! But why should I be surprised!"_ Growling he tried to hold back from roaring like a caged animal, but the pain was searing through his head.

Hearing a familiar whoosh sound followed by a crackle of static, he felt his scowl deepen.

"What do you want!?"

A deep, rumbling chuckle filled his ears.

"_**Well now, aren't we the presumptuous one."**_

Cringing, his eyes opened as he turned to look into the flaming portal. He did nothing to hide his discontentment, but he remained silent.

"_**Good, so you can hold your tongue. Perhaps there is hope for you yet."**_

Biting to keep his mouth shut, he continued to glare at his unwelcome 'visitor'.

"_**Go to Urufu Mori and…assist in any way you see fit."**_

Feeling the edges of his lips pulling back, the man rose to his feet.

"Time to go pay the fleabags a visit huh?"

"_**You are not to allow yourself to be detected. Do so, and she will suffer the consequences."**_ The man's face was replaced with a silhouette he knew almost by heart now.

Scowling, he turned to leave, but stopped when the voice spoke once again.

"_**This does not extend to your…friend however. She may do as she, or yourself pleases."**_

Balling his hands into fists, the screech of metal on metal filled the air.

"I…understand," he hissed between clinched teeth.

"_**Good, do not make me regret this…arrangement."**_

With that, the small portal of fire closed, leaving not a trace behind.

Flashback end

"_Ten years…ten long years and still he makes me wait! Even when this close!"_

Scowling, the man jumped over the edge of the canyon to the other side. His thoughts distracting him so that he didn't notice the shock of purple hair lowering over the edge moments before, nor hear the scream as its owner lost her grip and tumbled down the canyon.

* * *

Rondana and Marina were hurried into Majah's lab in the back of the medical cabin. The moment the old man had heard Marina might have something to explain what was happening, he had transformed into a charging bull and just about knocked his way through to the lab with the two girls in tow.

"Geeze, he's pretty quick for an old guy eh?" Rondana asked, trying to shake her friend from her somber mood.

Marina nodded in agreement, but remained silent, further worrying her friend.

During the entire short journey to the lab, Marina had noticed several things, the first of which was that she no longer felt an overwhelming sense of fear or imminent death.

"_This….makes no sense. How could I go from being stark frightened to completely calm just like that? It's like it just…went away? That's not possible for someone to calm down so quickly from that degree of fear, I should know, I've done it to others enough times to see it first hand!"_

The more she thought it over, the more it started to bug her. Somehow, she had gone from normal and ok, to nearly scared out of her wits, then back to normal. While not a psychologist, Marina was far from stupid, stupid people didn't last as politicians of any sort for very long, let alone as monarchs.

Another odd thing was her lack of memory from the entire event. She remembered finding the dead bird, but then after that things got fuzzy. She recalled sensing _something_ watching her, then bits and flashes of her running through the forest, and then her arriving at the village, but any and all detail from the event was missing or so foggy she could hardly focus on it at all.

The third, and in her opinion most bizarre oddity she had noted were several small, almost paper thin cuts on her clothing. This she would have passed off as having come from snagging on plants and whatnot, but all the cuts were diagonal, and went in the same direction, downwards with the low point being at her front.

"_It makes no sense, I just don't get it. I remember everything before finding the bird, but after that…"_

Forcing her mind to break through any mental barriers that might be in place, Marina recalled one tiny thing, but nothing more.

"_I remember…seeing those eyes…I saw them right before I started running…the same ones I saw when I reached the village…I wonder…could it have been some form of technique? Something that forces a person to feel fear? It wouldn't be completely unheard of, I know that father had something similar he used, but that would only work on people with weak wills. How could someone superimpose their will on me with no effort at all?"_

"Marina? Hello!? Atmos to Marina, anybody home?"

Blinking, the redhead became acutely aware of a pair of snapping fingers in front of her face.

"What?"

Rondana and Majah were both giving her impatient looks.

"_The bird you idiot! The bird!"_ Her mind shouted at her as she so often did at Madoc.

Lifting up the severed pant leg, Marina placed it on the table.

"I was out for a stroll trying to calm down…when I came across…this."

Opening the wrapping carefully, Marina watched the other two closely as she continued to explain.

"I found what I thought was a spring not too far to the south from here and was going to take a dip, but when I saw this fella, well, I decided not to. I thought it was strange that a buzzard of all things would just be dead with no sign of trauma. Their plenty tough, so for one to just drop like that can't be normal."

Rondana pulled a pair of gloved from her belt and turned over the bird, inspecting it as closely as she dared to.

"Did you see anything else there?"

Marina shuddered.

"Yeah, I saw something alright, not sure what though. The thing had glowing eyes and was keeping pace with me when I turned tail and ran."

She ignored the looks from the medic and doctor.

"The only other weird thing was there was something in the water…or something weird about the water itself…I'm not exactly sure which."

"What do you mean something weird about the water?" Rondana asked as she continued to inspect the dead bird.

"I was going to wash my hands after checking that thing, but I noticed that the water was…silvery. It didn't look right. I put a stick in it and swirled it around some, but when I pulled it out, the gunk ran off the stick like mercury or something."

"Wait a minute, you said that it was south from here? Was it in a small clearing, surround by trees on three sides?" Majah asked suddenly.

Thinking back and trying to remember what the area looked like exactly, Marina nodded her head.

"Now that you mention it, yeah, it was. I didn't think it at the time, but it was a bit weird for something like that to just be in the middle of a forest, but the one side was clear open, looked almost like it was a cliff face or something," Marina replied.

Majah sighed.

"Then it looks like what is happening to the Red Claws is no accident, you were right Rondana."

The two girls noticed the sadness in the mans voice, but said nothing.

"Marina, what you find was the Warriors Well. It is the spring where water for the Red Claws is drawn, both drinking and bathing."

"Wait a second, back up, you're telling me that you even have separate wells here?" Marina was about an inch from blowing her top. The entire terra seemed to be constructed for no other purpose than to piss her off, and it was doing a bang up job of that.

"Yes, we do have separate wells, but not as you are thinking. The Red Claws have their own well, while the rest of the villagers draw water from a well located within the village," Majah explained.

Marina crossed her arms and snorted. It wasn't as bad as she had thought at first, but it still irked her.

"Well, if something is in the water, it would explain why only the Red Claws are ill and not the rest of the village," Rondana reasoned.

"Still, how could something poison a spring? That's not possible is it? The water is continually being replenished, so it should filter itself out shouldn't it?" Marina asked.

"It would be possible if something was in the water, not just something put in it. I know what you're getting at though. You can poison a well by dropping something in it, but for a spring, it would take a continuous source, like a corpse or something filled with poison that's refilled regularly. Otherwise it would clean itself out," Rondana said tapping her chin.

"Either way though it's bad. What you're saying is that something is either dead at the bottom of the spring, or someone is deliberately poisoning it."

The two girls looked at each other, and then nodded.

"Sorry Mahja," Rondana started.

"But we think it's the second one," Marina finished.

"I'll need to get a few instruments from the ship though if I'm going to figure out what is doing this, come muscles…err…Marina, I need your help," Rondana slipped with a nervous laugh.

Marina lazily raised one eyebrow but followed her to the ship. She didn't have anything better to do anyways, and she did need to change into another pair of pants.

* * *

Tigger, Piper and Radarr were crouched under the ship searching for something. What, they didn't know, but they knew there had to be something, there wasn't anywhere else left to look.

"_Now, if I was Kai, where would I hide something I didn't want anyone to find?"_ Piper thought to herself. She had tried getting into Kai's head a few times since the journey had begun, but each attempt ended worst than the pervious. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out how the teen survived as long as he had. Sure, he had a very strong will going for him, and had been trained by some of the best out there, but the fact remained that none of that was enough to do what he did and keep going. There was something else at play here, something fueling him.

What that was however, she had no idea.

"_Wait a minute, I might not be able to get inside his head, but I know someone who can!"_

To be accurate, she knew _two_ someone's that could get inside his head, but since Shadow was busy acting as the lookout up on the watchtower, she was unfortunately left with only the alternative.

And she _really_ didn't like the alternative.

Closing her eyes, Piper took several deep breaths. Though they had spoken several times in the past, this would be the first time she ever tried to _initiate_ contact.

During one of Kai's bedridden recoveries, she had asked him how he spoke to Rose if he ever needed to for any reason. It had taken a while to get it out of him, but the older teen finally relented and told her that while Rose was the one to usually contact him, there was a way he could speak to her in case of an emergency. It had taken the better part of the afternoon, but he explained the process in great detail.

With her eyes closed, she couldn't see anything, but right now that wasn't important, she didn't need her sight, she needed her hearing.

At first she could only hear the background noise around her. People talking, a few kids running around the ship, and Tigger's muttered curses at Kai's lack of proper ship building knowledge. Concentrating, she pushed it all away, pushed it far away from her mind until she could hear nothing but silence.

Then, she heard a familiar giggle.

Focusing on that sound, she pulled herself towards it, listening for the sound she knew belonged to _her_.

"_Over here, come on Piper, you've almost got it! Just a little bit further!"_ She heard being cheered in her mind.

Feeling something soft under her hand, Piper opened her eyes, and gasped.

Before her was a massive and flourishing valley stretching as far as the eye could see. The ground was covered with lush green grass, and monstrous crystals rose from the ground blanketing the entire area.

"Welcome home Piper!" Piper heard just before getting glomp tackled to the ground by a flying blue and black missile.

Opening her eyes, Piper came face to face with 'New' Piper, still wearing the same backless and sleeveless black flight suit from before. The only difference that Piper could see with her twin was that her smile was ten times brighter.

"I can't believe you finally did it! You have no idea how long I've been waiting to meet you in person!" 'New' Piper shouted before hugging her again.

Though she was somewhat happy to see her 'twin' Piper's eyebrow was twitching when she noticed a few other details of this 'world'. Namely the statues that were surrounding them. Most were of Aerrow, about ninety percent of them to be accurate. But then she spotted a few that weren't.

Several were of Dark Ace, a few were of Kai, and to her horror, two were of Harrier and one was of Finn.

All of them were shirtless, and some were even in swim trunks.

"Why are those statues here?" Piper asked, more embarrassed than annoyed.

New Piper grinned before climbing off of her and helping her up.

"You like? Well of course you like, this is your mind after all," 'New' Piper teased with a flourish, once again revealing the fact that her flight suit showed a fair amount of skin on the backside.

'New' Piper looked over her shoulder, and frowned when she saw her twin's expression.

"Piper, we've been over this. I'm not changing, this is who I really am, who you want to be. You can't keep fearing little things like that."

Piper looked away, still red in the face.

"Yeah, the me I want to be, the me with a figure," Piper muttered.

'New' Piper groaned.

"Geeze girl, you're worst than Kai! I AM YOU! Don't you get that! The only difference between us is mental, not physical! You look exactly like I do!"

Not believing her for a minute, Piper ignored her 'twin' when she remembered why she was here in the first place.

"Look, I need your help. Me-"

"And Tigger are trying to figure out what the heck is up with Kai's clunker of a ship right?"

Piper nodded.

"That's pretty much it. I can't go get Shadow, so you're the best bet I could think of. You think like he does, so I was hoping you could give me a hand?"

'New' Piper frowned.

"_I can't believe she still doesn't get it! How much more obvious do I have to make it!"_

Sighing in aggravation over her other self's cluelessness, 'New' Piper spoke.

"I'll help you out, I think I know where what you're looking for is," she began.

"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Finally a break!" Piper cheered.

Seeing how happy her other was, 'New' Piper almost felt bad for what she was about to do.

Almost

"But, I want compensation for helping you out again."

Piper blinked, clearly not having expected that.

"Huh?" She asked intelligently.

"I said I want compensation. You know payment? I've helped you out several times and so far you haven't done a single thing for me. Tit for tat, payment for services rendered, you know the drill."

Piper's face scrunched up in confusion.

"But you're not real; you're just a figment of my imagination, the physical manifestation of my mind. I can't pay you, and even if I could, what would you do with money? It's not like you can go shopping or anything."

'New' Piper grinned evilly. Piper rated it as being somewhere between Lark and Dark Ace, not so much as evil as assured of getting what the barer wanted.

"Oh Piper Piper Piper, silly girl, you should know that payment doesn't have to be gold. There are sooo many other things that could be used for collateral, and you know it."

Not liking where this was going, Piper watched her double with a careful eye.

"What do you want then?"

'New' Piper grinned.

"So very many things Grasshopper, but we shall start with something small, something you can handle," 'New' Piper said sagely.

Piper felt her stomach clinch, having a sneaking suspicion as to what this other wanted from her.

"Well, get on with it, what do you want? We don't have a lot of time on our hands so hurry up!" Piper snapped.

'New' Piper ignored her snap, knowing that in this world time didn't exist, but while she was enjoying this, she knew that her other couldn't take much more.

"Straight to point huh? I like that. Well, since you can't really pay me much at the moment, I'll settle for you cutting the sleeves off of all the flight suits Kai let you borrow."

Seeing her other's blank expression, then grin, 'New' Piper added one other bit.

"And no long gloves, I know you got some of those too, but if you're going to wear gloves, they cant go past your wrist. I don't want to see you wearing any of those shoulder lengths you brought."

Piper deflated when her plan was shot down before even taking off.

"Now, do we have a deal?" 'New' Piper asked holding out her hand.

Looking the other way, Piper reached out and shook her others hand.

"Nice doing business with you," 'New' Piper said before she and the rest of the world disappeared from sight.

Opening her eyes, Piper was about the scream at her other for not keeping her end of the bargain when she noticed that her hands were no longer at her sides, but were holding onto a armor plate on the bottom of the ship, apparently having pulled it down.

"Wow, way to go Piper! How did you know to do that?" Tigger asked in amazement.

Blinking, Piper regained her senses and shook off the feel of someone having moved her like a puppet on strings.

"Uh, lucky guess? Come on, lets see what he's hiding up in here," Piper quickly covered over the subject and climbed up into the black space above, not wanting to answer Tigger's question since her only options were to lie (which she hated doing) or tell the truth and get locked up in the Atmos Funny Farm.

Shrugging her shoulders, Tigger climbed in after Piper, followed by Radarr.

* * *

"I can't see a thing in here, hey! Watch where you're putting you hands!" Piper shouted.

"It wasn't me! It was your monkey!"

Radarr growled at being accused for something he hadn't done. It wasn't his fault the glasses wearing girl was blind as a bat in the pitch black, but he could see fine.

"Wait a second, let me get a light," Piper said before digging her hands into her pockets.

"Ah ha! Let there be light!" Piper shouted triumphantly as she held her prized Solaris stone in front of her, Tigger and Radarr.

Warm light illuminated the area, banishing the darkness as if it had never even been there.

Seeing what surrounded them, Piper nearly dropped the crystal.

"Oh," Piper started.

"Dear," Tigger continued.

_Grauh_, Radarr finished.

The entire inside was an almost off shade of black that absorbed the light from the Solaris stone, but they could still see everything perfectly. Currently, they were in a crawl space about three feet high, meaning they had to crouch if they didn't want to hit their heads on the 'floor' above them. While the ship they had been in for the last few weeks had plates welded and was made like a jigsaw puzzle, this section of the ship looked like it was constructed in one piece, without any seems or rivets.

What was really strange however were the instruments lining the walls around them. None of them seemed to be online, but they weren't covered with dust either, so they had been used in the recent past.

"What is all of this?" Tigger asked, stunned by what she was seeing.

"You mean you don know what it is? I thought this was your thing?" Piper asked in confusion.

"Uh, yeah, NORMAL mechanics and stuff. I don't have a clue what this junk is. It's not like anything I've ever seen before. Its decades beyond anything we've got or even Cyclonia."

Turning, Piper pointed the Solaris stone to the bow of the ship, then to the stern, and was able to make out a panel at the end of each end.

"So, which do you think would be best?" Piper asked.

Tigger pushed her glasses up and frowned.

"My bet would be the back of the ship. It's closest to the engines so it would make sense…normally," Tigger added the last bit when she remembered whose ship they were crawling inside.

"Well, no time like the present, let's move," Piper replied as she handed the Solaris stone to Radarr, who was the only one that could walk upright inside the crawl space.

Tigger followed after her friend, trying to not pay too much attention to the numerous devices and gadgets that lined the walls, or the ach her knees and palms were starting to feel from crawling on the hard metal floor.

"This sucks you know that Piper? Just once I would like to go on a normal mission, one that doesn't include someone getting sucked into Oblivion, fighting interdimensional beings, traitors, someone almost getting killed or weird freaky stuff that is only supposed to happen in books or TV shows."

Piper snickered.

"Well, it could be worse."

Tigger quarked an eyebrow at that one.

"Worse? HOW?" She asked, mystified at how things could get any worst, but not being dumb enough to actually say the cursed phrase that brought instant doom to the speaker.

"Aladd could be with us," Piper offered.

"How would that be worst? That would almost make this whole stupid thing bearable!" Tigger shot back trying to defend 'her man'.

"Oh please, can you imagine what it would be like? Having Aladd on a ship with six girls?"

Tigger paled.

"Then could you imagine what _Kai_ would do if he even looked at Starling the wrong way?"

Tigger didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the mental images the though conjured.

"Anyways, at least we're not crawling in an air vent right?" Piper joked once they reached the end of the crawlspace.

"Yeah…I guess…but…uh…now what?"

Piper studied the panel closely. She recognized some of the writing on one side, but none of what was written at the top of the panel.

"I think…this should do the trick," Piper said as she placed her hand on the panel and pushed down lightly.

An audible click was heard, and then the panel slid inwards to the side like a hatch.

This time Radarr dropped the Solaris stone.

Before them was a large pulsating crystal. It reminded Piper of the one Arygyn had on his scepter, only it didn't have as many colors to it, glowing only with yellow and white light. Seemingly having sensed their presence, the glowing crystal hummed and resonated like a sky whale.

"What the heck is that thing?!" Tigger's voice echoed throughout the ships hull.

* * *

End chapter 24.

AN: Yeah, cool huh? Looks like there is more to Kai's ship than meets the eye lol. I wanted to get more in, but this chapter just kept growing and growing so I had to cut it off. I know it seems that not all of the characters got equal time, but that's because of me having cut it where I did. The rest of what was supposed to be this chapter was going to focus on Marina, Rondana and Shadow, but I just couldn't fit it. So, guess whose going to star the next chapter? I figure that this book will be ending in a few chapters, the next one will be the others and what they were doing, followed with a bit more here, then a good two chapter epic battle, so it should end around chapter 28 or 29…hopefully.

Again, sorry it took so long, but I've been busy with a lot and had a hard time with some parts of this chapter. I'll try to be faster in the future.

So, liked it, hated it, let me know! Reviews are what keep me going, improve, and give me ideas. I still accept annon reviews, but if you're logged on I'll try to reply to your review within a week (it's the best I can do).

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	25. Realizations and Understandings

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 25: Realizations, Rationalizations, and Understandings

* * *

AN: That's right people, I'M BACK BABY! It's been awhile I know, and I'm terribly sorry but I needed a bit of a break I guess. Fifty some chapters between two books was getting to be a bit taxing. I hope my skill has improved working on my other series, and I will eventually get around to editing my older chapters (of both books). So, after nearly six months of waiting, I give you the twenty fifth chapter of WOC!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda or the 'Deathclaws'. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Nintendo and Bethsaida (I think) however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, Kanin, Tsuki, Majah and this story.

Shadow, Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25  
Tigger and Aladd belong to Misery J. Voldemort  
Marina is nuts for Star Wars'  
Rondana was made, and is owned by Missy-Dedocakes  
Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

* * *

Rondana scrunched her nose as she tried to ignore the growing itch on its tip. Since they were on a backwater terra and had only the most basic of lab equipment she had been forced to cut off one of her sleeves and use it as a makeshift face mask.

"_I don't know how much longer I can take this,"_ she groaned mentally as the itch became ten times more intense.

Having sent Marina to clean up (and burn her flight suit in case it had picked up anything) it was now just her and Majah in the back of the small lab.

In the short time they had been on this terra she had grown to like the old man. He was nothing like the rest of the terra's population, he didn't look down on her or treat her any different than anyone else. In fact, he treated her better than most people she knew. She wasn't sure if this was due to him simply being older or if it was due to him being a doctor of sorts himself and showing respect for another practitioner of medicine.

Squinting her eyes, she made a small cut along the base of the dead bird's neck and allowed several drops of blood to drop onto the glass slide she had placed underneath it before hand.

"_I just hope I can figure out what the heck is going on before it's too late,"_ she thought darkly as a shudder ran through her.

"Majah, is the microscope ready?" she asked without looking up from the dead bird.

"Eh, yes it is ready, but I'm not sure why you think it could help you. If it is something in the blood as you suspect it's going to be far too small see with this," the old man replied with a cautious tone.

Rondana smirked.

"I've worked with less before, trust me if something is there I'll see it," she replied as she turned the bird over so that the blood wouldn't continue dripping. The table was going to have to be burned anyways but there was no need to risk spreading anything further if she could help it.

Picking up the glass slide, she carefully placed a second slide on top of it before moving over to the old microscope.

"_Now, tell me your story little birdy, tell me what happened to you,"_ she said to herself as she adjusted the focus trying to clear up what she was seeing.

Several seconds passed as time seemed to have stopped.

Looking up from the device, Rondana's face was white as a sheet.

"Majah…I think you need to see this," she said as she swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat.

* * *

Frowning, Shadow sighed as she felt the tell tale signs of boredom beginning to take hold of her. Past experience had taught her (and by extension everyone around her) that for her boredom was a very dangerous thing. For most people boredom led to taking naps, reading books, writing, or perhaps listening to music.

For Shadow, boredom usually led to explosions or at the very minimum extensive property damage.

"This tanks, why did I get stuck on lookout duty?" she asked no one in particular. Of course she knew why, there was no one else that could since they all had more important things to do.

That line of thinking however only caused her to become more incensed. Ever since this mission had begun she had been little more than the third wheel. Kai was obviously the only one that knew what was going on (to an extent) Piper was the navigator, crystal expert and translator, Marina was their main fighter, Rondana was the medic and Tigger was the mechanic. She and Starling had not been part of the original plan, they were simply add-ons.

Except for the fact that Starling hadn't been a mere tagalong like she had been.

"_In the Phoenix Den I didn't do anything to help at all, Rocky Fall's I got hurt and almost killed my friends, and now I'm just sitting here waiting for the next attack to come…am I really that useless?"_

She had been sent for a specific reason, one that she (and everyone else present) knew was a waste of time. Kai was not a traitor, but at the same time, what if he was? Had Arrow really thought that she could stop him if he was?

That caused her to snort.

"_He was trained by Starling and half a dozen other Sky Knights. What the heck could I do if he was a serious threat?"_

Thinking back to everything else that had happened since leaving terra Deep, Shadow found herself growing more and more depressed.

"_I'm not that great of a fighter, I mean, I'm ok, but the only people on this ship I might have a chance against are Tigger and Rondana. I can't do repairs and I know next to nothing about medicine…why am I even here?"_

Narrowing her eyes, that thought actually struck her as being more than just odd.

"_Why…am I here? Kai could have dropped me off or left me back at his base if he wanted to…why did he let me come in the first place? And for that matter, once things started getting dangerous, why didn't he drop me off then?"_

She ran everything she could think of over and over, but none of it explained why her friend had allowed her to remain despite everything going on around them.

"_Why…"_

"Grreeerrrrrr"

Looking down, Shadow saw that she had stopped rubbing Griffy's neck, resulting in his growling.

"Griffy, what am I going to do with you?" she asked with a small grin as she continued rubbing the back of his neck.

"_We've been through a lot together haven't we? Good times and bad."_

Blinking, she remembered back to her and Kai's last argument, the hurt look on his face when she had stormed off. It had been different from when she saw him fight with his friends in the past, having an almost needy or longing feel to it.

"_I…wonder…"_

Thinking back to everything that had happened once again but this time with a different train of thought, she was surprised at what she saw.

"_Not once has he tried to get me to leave since we started, but he has tried to get Starling to leave…several times in fact…"_

That alone struck her as odd. It was an open secret known to all (but the one who needed to know it) how the older teen looked to his long time friend. So for him to shun her in any way was difficult to understand. She had chalked it up to his being over protective and laid it to rest, but now that reasoning had lost some merit. After all, shouldn't that have extended to her as well? He had told her in the past that she was like a little sister to him, so shouldn't that have motivated him to push her away as well?

"_Come on Shadow, think, why would he be trying to push Starling away but not you? What's the difference between us? Kai doesn't do something unless he has a reason, and if he doesn't need something he doesn't…"_

Eyes wide, Shadow felt her jaw drop.

"_He…needs me, but not Starling? That doesn't make any sense at all, no it can't be that, it can't be. There is no way Kai would put me, or anyone for that matter above her, there has to be another explanation,"_ she thought shaking her head trying to push down her reddening cheeks.

Taking a deep breath she tried focusing from a different angle, one that didn't threaten to make her hyperventilate.

"_Ok, so for some reason, despite my being totally useless Kai has let me stay on this mission. At the same time, Starling, who has been incredibly useful and a huge part of why we're still alive gets the cold shoulder. Why? What do I have that she doesn't?"_

It only took her a few seconds, but when it hit her it hit like a runaway skimmer.

It wasn't what she had that Starling didn't; it was what Starling had that she didn't.

"_His heart…that's the difference between us. Kai might not act like it often, but he is human, he thinks and feels like the rest of us, so he has the same needs as the rest of us. He knows most of the others pretty well, but me and Starling are the only two friends he's got with him…and with everything going on the way it is…"_

Feeling her stomach twist, Shadow shook her head.

"_Great, the others might be keeping us, this mission and our ship going and in one piece, but I'm the one stuck keeping our fearless leader from turning into a basket case. Yippy for me,"_ she groaned.

Everything clicked into place now, and for once she didn't feel like she was just tagging along or in the way. Everyone on the crew had a reason for being there, and hers was to be what she was, Kai's friend. Nothing more and nothing less.

"_And I've been pushing him away so much…it's no wonder he's getting all quiet and withdrawn. He might act like a complete jerk sometimes, but he still needs people there for him. He's never asked for it and he's never sought it out, but he's never pushed us away either…except Starling…"_

That little fact was both troubling and amusing to her. On the one hand she had seen Kai fight large groups of thugs, go two on one against a Sky Knight and fight monsters that look like they came from a disturbed Merb's nightmares, but on the other hand despite everything he had done, all the crazy battles, life threatening stunts and sheer suicidal tactics he often employed he was afraid of his best friend.

"_I guess everyone has something though, and at least he keeps his under control…most of the time,"_ she thought with a small smirk as she recalled a few of the older teens slip ups.

"Oh well, can't do anything about the past," she said with a shrug as she leaned back against the wooden frame behind her.

"_When we get off this rock, I'll try to get him talking again. There are too many over serious people on this ship as it is."_

* * *

Marina was not happy, not in the least.

She was stuck on a terra whose entire culture was enough to make her contemplate declaring war on them after she returned to her home terra (and she had copied their coordinates if she felt the need to return). Added to that she had little to nothing to do since arriving if one didn't count the two run inns with Deathclaws, then had been chased like a scared rabbit through the forest carrying a dead vulture.

Rondana had of course been thankful for the sample as had been Majah, but that thanks was quickly followed by an order (as crews medic) to shower and burn her flight suit to prevent the spread of anything she might be carrying from carrying the dead bird.

She didn't like this because not only did it mean meandering through the village to reach their ship, but also because it meant the loss of the last flight suit she had brought with her from home. She had nothing against the normal standard issue flight suites the others wore, she simply preferred her own, the type she had been wearing for years.

Of course she had no one to blame but herself for this problem. Piper had warned her to pack for a long mission after all. She simply had underestimated just how long a 'long mission' was. So, thinking it would only be a matter of a week or so, two at most, she had packed three of her suites along with the one she had been wearing at the time, reasoning that she could get away with wearing one for a few days and there would always be the option of washing them.

Had dirt and grime or even blood been the only enemy her attire suffered attacks from this plan would have worked without a hitch. Unfortunately, she had yet to face the horrors of mud or Naru forbid 'dirt', oh no, she faced much simpler things on this particular quest, things that didn't dirty clothing in the least.

It simply destroyed them.

The Phoenix den had resulted in the loss of her first, falling victim to lava spray when they had been running from the Virage. It hadn't been much, and she supposed that she should have been counting herself lucky that she hadn't been burned alive as a result. But the back of her pants had several pin sized holes burned into them that she knew (from experience of previous run inns with lava) would only continue to grow until they simply fell apart.

The second flight suit had lasted through quite a bit, including a sandstorm and several fights with local wildlife. It however had fallen victim to the insidious evil known as 'random jagged protrusions' (A.K.A. rocks sticking out of a caves wall and floor). She hadn't even noticed until a red faced Kai pointed out the long cut along the side of her top and several smaller ones across the backs of her legs.

She made a mental note never to sit on a cave floor again after that one.

The third flight suit had survived the shortest length of time, falling prey to the acidic slime that spilled from the Deathclaws cocoon they had pulled Tsuki from upon arriving.

"_At least it wasn't as bad as what happened to Kai,"_ she reasoned with a smirk. It was true that what happened had been embarrassing to her, or to be more accurate it could have been, but what happened to the crew's lone male had _certainly_ been.

She had gotten away with the legs getting burned well past her knees and a few strategic drops on her back, which had resulted in her top nearly falling free were it not for the graces of her mother's genes.

Kai on the other hand was left with little more than a modest set of swim trunks.

To his credit, this was because he had reached into the cocoon and pulled Tsuki out, who had been coated in the stuff and who landed on him.

So, while he had been left in little more than his boxers, it was due to pulling an unconscious person from a bag full of acid. She couldn't think of anyone brave enough (or foolish enough) to joke about that particular event.

Her fourth and final flight suit however was probably the one whose loss stung the most. She could make due with only one pant leg, it wasn't anything major as she didn't wear much armor to begin with (nor did she need it). No, what hurt was that her mostly intact and still completely functional flight suit had to be destroyed because of the _chance_ that something might be on it that could prove hazardous.

She didn't blame Rondana for her order; she simply hated the fact that she was losing an otherwise perfectly good flight suit to a _possibility_.

Destroying it hadn't been too difficult, as Kai had placed a small incinerator conveniently within the ships bathroom.

This had been confusing at first, but after thinking about it and hearing about just what it was that Kai did for his day job it made perfect sense. If someone regularly ventured into dangerous or hazardous areas, it would be reasonable to assume they had to shed what they were wearing from time to time, and since this was always going to be followed up with attempting to remove whatever the cause for destroying the flight suit was from their person, why not put the two in the same room?

For all its logic however it did nothing to solve her current dilemma.

For the first time that she could remember in her entire life, Marina Dragmire, ruler of terra Gerudo, and flight lead of its squadron, had _nothing_ to wear.

Back at her palace she literally had enough clothes that if she wanted to she could cover the walls of every building on the terra. Of course she only wore a few of them, the rest had been gifts or for the rare special occasion (that she would always try desperately to get out of, after all who wanted to spend an entire evening listening to Zelda preaching about whatever was on her mind at the time). But here, now, in the confines of a small freighter, the queen was in a spot of royal trouble.

Sitting on the ships commode wrapped only in a towel she ran over her short list of options. A list that really had only two options.

Make something. Which was out since she didn't have the slightest clue how to stitch anything beyond simple patch jobs.

Or, take something. This appealed to her not only because it was the only one of the two options she actually could pull off, but because of the fact the no matter her title and no matter where life took her she would always be a thief at heart.

"_That just leaves the problem of who to take it from…"_ she thought smirking at the idea of stealing a few changes of clothes from the local inhabitants of the terra. That idea was quickly shot down however as it would imply doing so in only her precious towel. She had a great deal of faith in her skills as a sneak and a thief, but ever since this mission had begun she found herself unwilling to even attempt exercising her luck.

"_It's like that boy carries a bad aura around with him or something, like he absorbs other peoples luck,"_ she had mused once not so long ago. She had even through that perhaps that was how he had survived for so long, by taking others (namely those after him as they were often the only ones around him) 'luck' and using it for himself.

That left her with stealing from someone else on board the ship.

"_Well, Kai's out, I 'm not wearing a guys uniform…and he probably counts all his stuff so he would actually notice anything missing,"_ she thought with a snort. _"Tigger and Shadow are out, they're too short. Piper is several sizes too small and Rondana only has her dresses…"_

Her smirk shifted to a predatory grin.

"_Well then, that just leaves Starling."_

With her towel firmly in place, Marina stuck her head out the door and checked to see if anyone else was on the ship.

"_Ok, coast is clear,"_ she nodded to herself before sliding out the door and against the wall down the corridor.

"_Good thing this ship is so small, if this was the size of the Condor I doubt I'd be able to make it without anyone seeing me."_

It only took her a little over a minute to cover the short distance from bathroom to barracks and lock the door behind her.

"_Perfect,"_ Marina thought as she ignored the fact that everyone was likely too busy doing other more important things to be anywhere near the ship.

Stalking over to her fellow Sky Knight's trunk locker she was disappointed to find that there was no lock to prevent her from simply opening the top.

"_Kinda takes all the fun out of it when it's this easy,"_ she sighed. That was one of the drawbacks to being a master thief; you got bored easily when there was nothing to keep you occupied or challenge your skills. As much as the day to day drull of being ruler of terra Gerudo tried her patience, it did at least keep her busy if nothing else.

Opening the locker she quickly began sifting through its contents seeking her quarry. She had to be careful though, she knew that Starling had specialized training, and while she doubted the Sky Knight would mind her borrowing a spar flight suit or two, she wanted to test her thieving skills against Starling's observational skills.

In short, she wanted to see if she could take what she was after without Starling noticing anything.

It didn't take long for her to find what she was after. Starling was as meticulous and organized as could be.

As she pulled the uniform up from the trunk she noticed something, something that didn't fit.

Starlings locker was basically divided into two 'stacks'. One side had clothes; the other side was 'not clothes', which was basically just a few crystals, a spar weapons holster, and a few other knick knacks. But under the third flight suit (only an amateur would take the easy one on top) was a single very well hidden crystal.

Kneeling over the locker, she stared at the crystal for a few moments until it finally clicked just what she was looking at.

"_It's a messenger crystal…a high density one at that…it's probably a flight log or something,"_ she reasoned as her eyes shifted back to the door.

"_Well, she won't be back for awhile, and it's probably just a flight log. I mean, seriously, Starling isn't the type to keep a diary…"_

Aside from the occasional bout of boredom, Marina also had to deal with a constant sense of curiosity that came from treasure hunting in ancient tombs and temples. She wasn't the only one on the ship with that problem however, as she had seen Kai eyeing their lockers on more than one occasion. It wasn't so much of a desire to steal as it was to simply find something. It was the reason why despite her age she still became giddy when she pulled the prize from the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks.

Now, within her reach was a possible 'treasure' of another sort. She knew and got along with the others just fine, and she knew a fair bit about most of them, but Starling and Kai were still largely unknown to her outside her observations or what she had heard from the others.

For Starling, she knew that the woman came from a rough childhood, her quiet nature and distant personality proved that plain as day. She also carried a great weight of grief over her shoulders, one that was strongly tied to guilt. Piper had told her the story about the Interceptors, which did explain most of that weight, but not all of it. There was something else there, something that frightened her to the point that she always kept the others in her sight, something that kept her awake long after that others (excluding Marina herself) had fallen asleep.

Kai was a different matter entirely. He was very open with just about everything. If you asked him something, chances were that he would tell you the answer if he knew it. The only time he was secretive was when it came to his past specifically, and even then it was only on selective matters. He had no problem telling anyone that cared to hear how he had snuck into the Sky Council chambers and made off with any number of things, or how he had tricked the Rex Guardians into chasing a decoy halfway across free Atmos, heck he practically bragged about those types of things.

Both were polite enough and generally well mannered, neither would outright lie to you but preferred to change the subject if it was on a topic they didn't care for, and neither one had any problem telling you anything that wasn't personal. But therein laid the key. Personal.

She had only tried to pry into Starling and Kai on one occasion each, and both had shut her down in the blink of an eye.

Now in her hands was a possible peak into the last two unknowns of her temporary teammates.

"_I'll just listen to a little bit, if it's too personal I'll shut it off,"_ she decided with a tiny smirk as she placed the messenger crystal onto the nearby locker.

Inspecting the flight suit she had 'borrowed' she estimated that it was roughly the right size, a bit tight in the midsection perhaps but she knew that wouldn't be a problem for long.

Taking a moment to retrieve a crystal knife from her own locker, she sat down with the blade in one hand and the flight suit in the other.

"Now, let's see what Starling has to say," Marina said activating the crystal and knife at the same time.

As she lifted the flight suit with one hand and the crystal knife with the other, a small hologram of Starling appeared on the locker beside her.

'Suzy, I am sending you this information in case I…do not return from this mission.'

Marain blinked, and then blinked again.

"_What?"_

'In the last two weeks Kai has become increasingly withdrawn from others, more so than usual. What is even more unusual is that he is no longer following his normal pattern of behavior. Rather than becoming frustrated or aggravated with increasing pressure from events concerning this mission, it's almost like he's…afraid of something."

Making her first cut along the waistline of the flight suit, Marina continued listening to the recording carefully.

'He will still engage others in conversation, but…it's hard to explain. It's almost like there is something on his mind, something that he can't or won't stop thinking about.'

"_So he's obsessive huh? That's not surprising. Still, it sounds like he wasn't always like this…I wonder what changed?"_

'I know his powers have become increasingly unstable, but as long as he doesn't continue using them they shouldn't be of too much concern. The only thing I am certain of is that he knows something that he's not telling the rest of us. But what possible reason could he have for withholding information from everyone else? He knows that withholding vital or critical details can jeopardize a mission, and given how by the book he's treating this one I can't imagine why he would risk making any exceptions.'

"_Hmm, I thought being secretive was just his personality. According to this though that isn't the case. Strange, what would make a person do a complete one eighty from normal? He's not so immature that he would hold something back if he was simply afraid or angry with something,"_ Marina thought as she finished cutting the flight suit in half making it into a top and a pair of pants rather than a one piece.

Satisfied with her work so far, she continued.

'He hasn't become aggressive, depressed, or shown any signs of mood swings of any sort. If anything he's…calmed down, takes things more serious…I know it sounds stupid, but there have been times where I find myself wishing he'd go back to the way he used to be, or at least show a wider range of reaction. With each passing day he gets more…_*sigh* _he's…turning into me Suzy. All those years where I kept telling him to grow up and take things more serious…'

Raising an eyebrow, Marina continued to trim material off the bottom of the uniforms top portion as she listened to the message.

'Suzy, I don't know what to do. I can fight and I can fly, I've been trained to do any number of things, but I never had any sort of training dealing with the mind other than manipulation or interrogation. I don't have any idea what to do…I don't even know what the problem is,' Starling chuckled darkly before continuing. 'For the first time in over a year I have both the time and the opportunity to spend time with him and he up and decides to switch roles with me. I can't say that I don't entirely deserve it, but…it makes me worry. What does he know…what is making him act like this all of a sudden?'

The image faded with a few static sparks before disappearing.

"That…was unusual," Marina said before noticing Starling's image reappear on the locker.

'It has taken several days for me to find enough privacy to make another entry, but fortunately everyone is still trying to figure out exactly what happened on the last terra... some sort of temporal wake effect that sent us back in time several days. I figured it was best simply to accept it and not to continue thinking about it.' Starling took a deep breath before continuing. 'Suzy, your suspicions were right. Kai has traveled outside of the known terra before. How many times I am still unsure, but he has apparently made contact with several groups of people that even the archives are unaware of. Kai has maps in his possession that put even our best charts to shame. I was able to get a good look at a few of them back at his base, but he apparently has some form of copy he has brought with him on this mission.'

Narrowing her eyes when she realized her last cut hadn't been straight, Marina made a large cut along the uniforms top, completely removing the mid drift section.

'The log book we are using as our guide only has coordinates; it doesn't have any real maps that could be used to find anything…at least according to Piper. Her translation work is a bit rough, but I trust her skills and knowledge. According to her the log book only give numeric coordinates, but they don't match up with any of our charts or maps. She says that Kai supplied her with a formula to use that so far has proven able to guide us to the various terras. I don't quite understand how it works, but it converts the coordinates in the log book to those of our charts. That's all fine and dandy, but where on Atmos did Kai get the formula to do such a thing? I don't like this Suzy, not one bit. If Kai has ventured beyond the known and explored areas of Atmos…what else might he have discovered?'

Again Starlings image disappeared from sight for several seconds before flickering back to life.

'This might be the last entry I am able to make for some time. We are nearing the next terra, I can't pronounce its name even if I wanted to, but apparently Kai has been to it before. Not much else has happened since we left the last terra, but I have noticed that Kai has been observing Shadow and Piper on occasion. I can understand his curiosity regarding Shadow with what happened on the last terra, but his sudden increased interest in Piper was…unexpected. He seems to have taken a liking to her, or at the very least will open up to her from time to time. She herself seems to be completely unaware of his observations, or is passing them off as nothing.'

Marina grinned at that part of the message.

"Looks like someone's jealous," Marina said with a sing a song voice before setting down the uniforms top and starting to work on the pants.

'I know others might pass it off as well, but they don't know Kai, not like I do. He doesn't do anything without a reason, and if he's observing someone there is a reason for it. I spoke with a few of the others, but neither Tigger nor Rondana have noticed anything. Shadow stated that Kai had spent some time with Piper before gathering the rest of us, so I suppose something might have caught his attention during that time.'

Marina shook her head and rolled her eyes.

'The only thing I can think of is that he has somehow picked up on her…possible skills.

Ears perking up, Marina turned her full attention to the small hologram of Starling.

'You know as well as I do that the Sky Council are keeping their eyes on both Aerrow and Piper, Aerrow because of who his father was, and Piper…because of the incident with Lark Cyclonis. But how could Kai know if she is a catalyst or not when even the Council is unable to do so? The only known way to distinguish if someone is, is by them bonding with someone and their powers manifesting itself. What does he know that we don't?'

The image flickered out and the crystal seemed to go dead prompting Marina to reach for it, but pause when she remembered just who had been using the crystal to record messages.

"_I wonder…"_

Sure enough, after allowing a full minute to pass Starling's image reappeared.

'Suzy, it happened. The village we are currently staying at was attacked by some sort of creatures. I've never seen anything like them before, and I pray that I never do again…but…Piper is a catalyst. I don't know if Kai somehow already knew or not, but during the attack she manifested her powers to help us fight. What worries me is that by all appearances she has apparently already bonded with Aerrow…'

Detecting the obvious tone of distress in the young woman's voice Marina put down her work to listen.

'You know what they will do when they find out about this; they'll pull her from the Storm Hawks and try to break her bond with Aerrow. It's been over a century since a catalyst was born in Free Atmos, and there is no way that the Sky Council will pass up on this if they find out.'

Bawling her free hand into a fist, Marina had to fight the urge to snarl at what she was hearing.

'I…I don't know what to do Suzy. Ever since discovering that the Council has been trying to kill me off for the last year…I've…been unable to think clearly concerning them. I know they're trying to protect Free Atmos, but Kai was right about them. There really is no low that they won't stoop to if it means giving them an edge. I was fairly young when they took me in for special ops training, and I've never fully…I know that it changed me, I know they tried to take away my emotions…even as young as I was…but Piper…she's only fifteen, and with her personality and history…there's no way she would be able to make it through and remain even a fraction of her true self.'

Feeling her lip pull back into a scowl, Marina was once again forced to remind herself why she didn't outright declare war on the Sky Council, but her resolve was waning the more she learned about the old men.

'The only hope she has would be to run…but I know she'd never leave the other Storm Hawks. They are her friends and her family…and…I just don't know how I can help her. Ever since this mission began I've felt like I was nothing but dead weight. I have all this training, all this skill, and I'm completely powerless to help protect a fifteen year old girl from her own government, or speak to a boy I've known for the better part of my life. I don't know what's going to happen next, or where we will be heading, but if at all possibly I will try to see if we can make a stop near you to give you an update…you might actually be of more help than I am with this mess Suzy...Starling out.'

Hearing those last two words, Marina's eyes widened.

"_Starling out? But that would mean that the crystal isn't a simple recording device, but that it's also a-"_

'Hello? Starling?'

Looking down at the crystal, Marina felt her pulse begin accelerating.

'Hey, I'm talking to you up there, you with the bath towel!'

Reaching for the crystal Marina yanked back her hand when a life sized hologram appeared before her.

One that was _not_ Starling.

* * *

Peering through the microscope, Majah wasn't quite sure what to make of what he was seeing.

"It looks almost like…bugs?"

Rondana, who was now pacing stopped in her tracks.

"Parasites…that might explain a few things but…"

"Rondana, there is no such thing as a parasite so small that it could live in a hosts blood stream," Majah pointed out.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I've seen plenty of strange things when Kai is involved, but this is a first…what I don't get is how they are multiplying so quickly. Parasites normally take more time than this…unless…Majah…please don't tell me that you're giving the Blood Claws water from that spring…while they are here," she cringed even as the words left her mouth.

The two looked at each other, then to the pails of water on the opposite side of the room.

* * *

Not even two seconds passed before each and every one of the buckets was hurled out the front door, immediately followed by a stream of fire from courtesy of Rondana's crystal staff.

That lasted for well over a minute.

* * *

Stomping back into the old wooden building, Rondana leveled the few people tending to the ailing Blood Claws with her fiercest glare.

"Look, I don't care about you're customs or rituals or whatever it is you've been doing for generations. If you continued giving these patients water from that spring you're going to kill them! Now go to the NORMAL well for water from now on, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!" She hissed at the now frightened nursing staff.

When no one responded she slammed the butt end of her staff on the wooden floor.

"I asked you a question!"

"Yes sir!" Several of the nurses shouted before scurrying out with empty buckets to fetch fresh water.

Blinking, Rondana wasn't sure exactly how she should feel at being called 'sir' but she was relieved to know that she was no longer fighting an uphill battle that was a sheer vertical wall at least.

Majah placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave a small grin.

"Not bad for a girl," seeing her reaction he quickly continued. "None of the natives here would have had the courage to stand up like that, even if they knew what was happening."

Rondana sighed and deflated slightly.

"It still doesn't change much of anything. With all the water they've been drinking they're systems are full of those things."

The old man shrugged.

"So? If a cup is full of water it can be emptied can it not?"

Raising an eyebrow, the young medic nodded.

"True, but this isn't the same. Parasites are extremely difficult to get out of a host once they've dug in, and there is no way for a person's immune system to fight them off. They have to be removed, or killed, and neither one of those are easy to pull off."

"Well, removing them is out of the question, so that just leaves killing them," Majah reasoned.

"Correct, but like I said, that's not easy. Parasites are very resilient under normal circumstances, but these…these are really different. I've never seen anything like this before naturally, and given where we are I'm willing to bet they're not natural. Otherwise you'd have come across them before."

"So what do you recommend doing? You have more experience with this sort of thing than anyone here does."

Biting her lip, Rondana shook her head.

"I…I don't know…I told you I've never had to deal with anything like this before. I know we have to keep their strength up, so…they need iron to keep their muscles from atrophying…so…I guess the first thing to do is get some meat in their systems…"

The old man offered a gentle smile.

"One step at a time Rondana, remember no one can travel anywhere without putting one foot in front of the other to walk or run. Let's start with the food, and then take things from there ok?"

Nodding Rondana slumped down in the seat behind the desk before noticing the dead bird still on top of it.

* * *

Seconds later it joined the ashen remains of the buckets she had thrown out earlier, and was torched by another stream of fire.

* * *

Piper and Tigger entered the small 'room' carefully. There wasn't much that made it remarkable other than the large glowing crystal in its center. Aside from that it was just four barren walls, a floor and a ceiling.

"I *really* don't like the looks of that thing Piper," Tigger said with an involuntary shudder.

Releasing another whining moan the spherical crystal shifted its color, turning silvery white. From where the two girls were kneeling, it looked like a spherical mirror.

"What is that thing?" Tigger asked.

Piper looked over her shoulder with a quizzical expression.

"Why are you asking me? I've never seen anything like it before."

Tigger's eyes grew wide at that.

"But I thought you were some kind of crystal expert?!"

"I _am_, but that doesn't mean I know everything there is to know about them."

Tigger sat and watched as Piper crawled steadily closer to the large crystal and shuddered as it released yet another moaning grumble.

"Why is it doing that?" she whispered more to herself than Piper, knowing the she probably didn't know either.

Piper didn't respond to her, but instead sat herself next to the glowing orb Indian style and adopted a thinking pose.

Studying the crystal, Piper was able to make a few observations right of the bat, none of which really told her much.

"_It's pure…and it seems stable…nothing really strange about that…but what's up with the noise? I've never heard anything about a crystal making sounds on its own before."_

Looking over at Radarr she motioned for him to come over.

Reluctantly, the sky monkey approached the bluenette cautiously.

"Radarr, may I have my Solaris crystal back please?" she asked holding out her hand to her fellow Storm Hawk.

Looking back between the crystal and Piper's outstretched hand; Radarr sighed and handed over the crystal.

"_Sound…why the sound…I know that it must have something to do with whatever this crystal is or does...but how?"_

Holding her Solaris crystal closer to get a better look, she noticed something when the glowing crystal released another whining moan.

She _felt_ it.

"_What on Atmos? Why was I able to…and what was…"_ furrowing her brows, Piper focused on the Solaris crystal in her hand then back at the glowing crystal.

"_I wonder…"_

Holding the Solaris crystal next to the 'moaning crystal' she waited for it to release another wave of sound. When it did several seconds later, she noticed her Solaris crystal suddenly grow much dimmer.

"_But it doesn't feel any cooler, so it's not draining my crystal's energy…"_

Frowning, Piper tried to remember if she had ever heard of anything like this happened before. She knew terra Deep had a bad reputation just like the Black Gorge did with draining crystals, but that had been written off as being the Murk Raiders long ago in her book.

"_Sound…sound…what does sound have to do with crystals? I know that they can be shattered at high frequency because of their crystalline structure, but none of the crystals on this ship seem to be breaking down any…"_

As her crystal continued growing dimmer, Piper's frown grew.

"_What I really don't understand is why it's only now affecting my crystal, why not before? Why hasn't this thing affected any of our crystals up until now?"_

Studying the 'room' she couldn't see any real shielding of any sort that might explain the reason, nor did she see any other crystals that might somehow counteract the glowing crystals effect.

"_Come to think of it, it didn't even affect my crystal until Radarr gave it to me…maybe it has limited range or something?" No that's impossible; if it had limited range it wouldn't be able to affect the crystals on the ships hull. This thing just gets weirder and weirder,"_ Piper thought with a groan.

Looking back at her Solaris crystal, she knew that she was holding the key in her hand and that the door was right in front of her. She just couldn't figure out where the keyhole was so to speak.

"_Ok Piper think. It somehow uses sound to affect crystals, but not all crystals for some reason and not all the time…"_

Recalling the events of the last few minutes she focused on when her crystal had begun to grow dimmer, and connected it to when it had made its sound.

"_If it only began to affect my Solaris crystal after that weird sound wave hit it, the how does it continue to affect the crystals on the hull? Sound waves can travel pretty far, but if it takes a full on hit to affect them then as soon as they are moved out of range they should go back to acting normal."_

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she replayed everything over several times in her mind. Seeing the crystal being hit by the sound waves, then moved away from the large crystal yet still affected. At the same time she saw other crystals that were not being affected by the sound even when next to the affected crystal.

Eyes snapping open Piper spoke only two words as her Solaris crystal faded even further, casting the room with only pale almost ghostly light.

"Harmonic resonance."

* * *

Gulping, Marina looked directly into the eyes of the creature standing before her. She had seen some weird things in her lifetime, but this one took the cake. It looked like some kind of cross between a dog and a rabbit, complete with long flopped down ears and a tail.

"Are you going to just sit there or are you going to answer me?" the blue furred creature asked before blowing a large pink bubble.

_Pop_

"Who…what are you?" Marina asked, unconsciously reaching for the crystal knife at her side.

The figure snorted.

"In that exact order, I'm Suzy, and I'm a Sky Knight. What's it to you?"

Rising so that she was eye to eye with the hologram, she was surprised when it suddenly looked up at an angle.

"Huh, you're not human are you?" Suzy stated more than asked.

"I could say the same about you," Marina replied casting a glance over her shoulder only to see nothing.

"_Why is she looking…oh I get it. She must be looking through that crystal,"_ she quickly figured out before returning to her sitting position to test her theory.

Sure enough the figures head lowered back to being level.

"_Interesting little toy you have here Starling. A crystal that lets you see and speak to another person, not bad at all. I wonder where I can get me one of these myself…"_

"Judging by your hair and nose, I'm guessing that you'd be Marina right?" Suzy asked, adopting a rather serious expression.

"That would be correct…who are you?"

The figure blinked and cocked its head to the side.

"You're telling me that neither Starling or Kai mentioned me before?"

Shaking her head, Marina continued to take in observations of the person she was speaking with. They were obviously built for cold weather, and judging by the shape and size of her legs it was obvious that they were strong fighters.

"The names Suzy, Suzy-Lu."

Marina did a double take.

"You're Suzy-Lu?"

"Ah so you _have _heard of me eh? For a minute there I thought that Kai and Starling had forgotton about little ol me out here."

Marina shook her head, more to clear out the shock at who and what she was seeing rather than is dismiss Suzy's statement.

"I…uh, they never said you were a..uh…what exactly are you?" Marina asked bluntly.

She was surprised when Suzy grinned.

"Meh, I'm not surprised they didn't say nothen. We've known each other so long that sometimes I forget they're not Blizzarians like the rest o us," Suzy explained.

"_So they really are that close…to the point where they don't even notice something like that."_

"So what exactly were you doing going through Star's stuff hmm?"

Holding up her claimed flight suit, Marina smirked.

"Ran out, so I thought I'd borrow a few from her…then I found the crystal in her locker when I took this one out," Marina plainly stated not bothering to beat around the bush.

Suzy studied the altered flight suit before looking back at the redhead.

"Borrow? I think this is more permanent. Star wouldn't be caught dead in someten like that," Suzy replied with a chuckle.

Marina shrugged in response.

"Still…why were you poking that nose of yours into her privacy? She don't like people doing that you know?"

Again Marina shugged.

"It was the first time I had a chance to find out anything about her. It's not like she talks much."

Suzy nodded.

"True, but you could try asking her," Suzy pointed out.

"Tried it, she shut me down, same as Kai. The only time they ever really talk about anything is stuff about missions. Not that I don't appreciate having people that take things seriously to work with for a change, but…it gets a bit old. They must have something else to talk about, something they do in their free time." Marina defended.

"Sadly, not really. Both of them throw themselves into their work to the point that it _is _their life. The only other thing they have is the past, and I know they won't talk about that."

Marina's expression dropped at hearing that.

"Why are they like that? I can understand grieving over lost love ones…Piper told me about the Interceptors and terra Messa, but shouldn't they have moved on by now? Why do they keep doing this to themselves?"

Suzy sighed and shook her head.

"Because they're both stubborn, and they blame themselves for what happened."

"Blame themselves? Why? Because they couldn't stop an entire invasion force on their own?"

Again Suzy shook her head.

"Kai wasn't there to help them fight; he was trying to pass the Knights trials on terra Atmos. By the time he returned there wasn't anything left…save Starling."

Marina felt a pang in her chest at hearing that. As a warrior herself she knew the pain Kai must have been carrying for that to happen. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to return home and find her entire terra wiped out.

To lose in battle was one thing, but for everyone else to lose and you not even be there was another.

"What about Starling? Is it survivor's guilt or something?" Marina asked, figuring it was the only explanation.

Suzy nodded.

"Yes, but not in the way you're thinking."

That one surprised her.

"Huh?"

"Aside from Kai and a few others that had left before it happened, Starling is the only survivor of the terra itself, and is the only survivor of that attack. The reason she feels guilty however has more to do with the reason she survived than the fact that she did."

Not liking where this was going, Marina asked Suzy to continue.

"Starling was injured early in battle by Repton, badly enough that she was forced out of the battle. One of her squad mates hid her in their base…and…"

Marina closed her eyes having figured out the rest on her own.

"_Her squadron died protecting her. No wonder she keeps everyone at arms length."_

"It's not that they want to be like that…they're just a bit…shell shocked you know?"

Marina nodded.

"Hey listen I gotta go, I'm not going to rat you out or anything but don't go rooting around in places you shouldn't alright? Just give them time and they'll open up to you a bit. They're easily spooked with people, especially people they respect."

With that the hologram faded and disappeared completely, leaving Marina alone.

Sighing, the master thief returned the crystal to where she had found it, and then donned her new flight suit.

"No time like the present I guess."

Attaching her weapons belt and holstering her scimitars, Marina cracked her knuckles before opening the door.

* * *

"_What is that?"_ Shadow thought, swearing that she could see something moving in the brush just beyond the clearing. Squinting, Shadow pulled out her binoculars and focused them.

_Dink_

Dropping the binoculars, Shadow jumped down from the top of the wooden wall and ran into the village.

"THEY'RE COMING!"

Sure enough, what could only be described as a wall of yellow charged the clearing between the forest and the village.

* * *

End chapter

AN: Well this is my attempt at getting back into the saddle of writing Storm Hawks. I apologize if it doesn't make up for my absence, but it's the best I could do. I'll be ending book two with the next chapter, and then be moving on to book three. It'll start a bit slow but end with the mother of all bangs *grins*.

Let me know what ya'll thought, you're reviews help keep me going and let me know what I need to work on. Not to mention they let me know what you want to see more of. So let me know!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


End file.
